SEC upgrades Viv U review
Investigation now a formal affair
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The Securities & Exchange Commission on Tuesday upgraded its informal inquiry into Vivendi Universal's disclosure policies to a formal investigation, further vexing an already complicated financial cleanup job at the French conglom.
Meanwhile, the company's "part-time" entertainment chief, Barry Diller, was regaling a travel industry conference in Los Angeles about his commitment to his interactive commerce company.
Viv U, already in the doghouse with stockholders and anxious creditors, said in a statement that it "intends to cooperate fully" with the SEC inquiry, which will proceed in conjunction with the ongoing investigation being conducted by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Viv U also is being scrutinized by the Paris stock market regulator, the Commission des Operations de Bourse, to determine whether management misled investors in its financial disclosures under the regime of ousted chairman Jean-Marie Messier.
Meanwhile, at the PhoCusWright conference Diller was reassuring his audience that his interactive services company, USAI, remained his top priority. Diller also confirmed that his gig at a newly expanded Universal Entertainment unit would last no more than six to eight months as part of a "provisional government." Observers would be excused for wondering just how many hours Diller has in his day to perform such tasks.
The SEC news adds further insult to financial injury for the embattled company as it struggles to pare down an estimated year-end debt load of $16 billion while simultaneously struggling to raise $4 billion to buy control of lucrative French telco Cegetel.
As if he didn't already have enough on his mind, Viv U chairman-CEO Jean-Rene Fourtou was named chairman of the Paris-based Intl. Chamber of Commerce, representing the global business interest of some 8,000 member companies in 140 countries. The two-year term will begin Jan. 1. Fourtou, who has been a vice chair at the ICC, said he will be handle both jobs at the same time.
