Grosso modo des pour parler sont en cours pour la vente d'activision !
Mon sentiment est que si Bolloré rentre...c'est qu'il sait des choses que nous ne savons pas...la preuve encore une fois, tout cela a du être murement réfléchi entre Levy et lui...!
Voila l'article, malheureusement disponible uniquement en Anglais pour le moment :
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Vivendi Said to Discuss Activision Unit Sale on June 22
By Marie Mawad, Jacqueline Simmons and Matthew Campbell - Jun 7, 2012 3:23 PM GMT+0200
Vivendi SA (VIV) is set to decide on the future of its video-game unit Activision (ATVI) Blizzard Inc. at a senior executive meeting this month as it considers options for a reorganization, said people with knowledge of the matter.
The main scenario to be discussed is a sale of part or all of Vivendis 61 percent stake in Activision, the maker of Call of Duty with a market value of $13.4 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the meeting is private. Vivendi has met with investors in the past weeks to discuss options, one of them being a spinoff of pay-TV unit Canal Plus, which is 20 percent owned by Lagardere SCA (MMB), said one person.
Enlarge image Vivendi Said to Discuss Activision Sale
Attendees visit the Activision Blizzard Inc. display at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles. Photographer: Patrick Fallon/Bloomberg
Vivendi jumped as much as 5.3 percent in Paris. A sale of Activision would be an attempt by Chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou to unlock value from assets he has said are at a discount because of the holding structure at Vivendi, which also owns Universal Music Group and phone operators in France, Morocco and Brazil. Fourtou will lead the weekend retreat in Corsica, which starts June 22 and will be attended by top executives including Chief Executive Officer Jean-Bernard Levy, as Vivendi looks for ways to reverse a 28-percent slide in Paris-based Vivendis stock price in the past 12 months through yesterday, the people said.
Annual Gathering
A single sale is actionable, but it risks being a short- term solution, said Claudio Aspesi, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in London, who recommends holding the stock. Six to 12 months from now, questions will pop up again. What happens next? Why does it makes sense to keep the rest of the assets together? Is there any strategy?
A Vivendi spokesman said the executive meeting is an annual gathering that has taken place since 2005. He declined to discuss specific scenarios, adding that nothing has been decided and that the meeting is a forum of exchange and discussion, not for quick-fix decisions or solutions.
We will not stay idle, Fourtou said at the companys shareholder meeting in April. Members of the supervisory and management boards as well as the main managers will spend three days together soon, like every year. We will look over our strategy, our perimeter and our image among investors.
Vivendi jumped as much as 69 cents to 13.80 euros and traded 3.9 percent higher at 13.63 euros at 3:22 p.m. in Paris. Bloomberg News first reported on April 25 that the company was considering an overhaul of its structure that may lead to its breakup. Vivendi has a market value of 17.5 billion euros ($22 billion).
Shares Outperform
Activision, based in Santa Monica, California, is Vivendis fourth-biggest business, with sales of $4.76 billion last year. Shares of the worlds largest video-game publisher have gained 4.5 percent in the past year, outperforming Electronic Arts Inc. and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., helped by demand for the Call of Duty shooter franchise.
Activision was Vivendis second-fastest growing unit last year, after Brazilian phone operator GVT. The video-game publisher reported 2011 earnings, excluding taxes, of $1.33 billion, or 28 percent of sales.
Vivendi has yet to decide what it would do with proceeds from any sale, the people said. The company may decide to return the funds to shareholders through a share buyback or to reinvest in its media and telecommunications businesses, they said. Vivendi could also decide against a sale of Activision, the people said.
The company has weighed a bigger overhaul of its structure, though this option may have moved down its list of alternatives, the people said.
No Taboo
Vivendi looked at splitting into two, with one part consisting of media units Universal Music Group, Canal Plus and Activision, and the other telecommunications and content- distribution businesses SFR, GVT and Maroc Telecom, people familiar with the matter said in April.
In a March 27 letter to shareholders, Fourtou and CEO Levy said its a misconception that Vivendis various businesses have no connection. Still, questions about whether units should be sold or the company broken into pieces are not taboo, they said.
The annual executive retreat is held at a different location every year, with last years meeting taking place in Casablanca, Morocco. This years venue, Corsica, is a Mediterranean island popular with tourists because of its coastlines and mountains.
SFR Buyout
Slowing sales and earnings growth at Vivendis businesses have left the companys shares hovering near a nine-year low. The stock is down 34 percent since Levy announced his latest deal -- the 7.95 billion-euro buyout of French wireless operator SFR -- in April 2011.
Since then, SFR has come under pressure from new discounter Iliad SA. SFR has proposed cost-cutting plans and will give details to unions in the coming weeks. Vivendis Levy hired Vodafone executive Michel Combes to lead SFR and replace Frank Esser, who has stepped down after 11 years in the role.
Combes will bring strategic vision to the unit, which accounts for 41 percent of Vivendis sales and 34 percent of profit, Levy said last week.
