Vivendi taps Rothschild, Deutsche Bank for GVT sale – report

News Broadband Brazil 17 AUG 2012
Vivendi taps Rothschild, Deutsche Bank for GVT sale – report

Vivendi has hired Rothschild and Deutsche Bank to study strategic options for its Brazilian operator GVT, Bloomberg reports, citing two people familiar with the matter. According to the same source, Vivendi may sell the company, or a stake, or propose an initial public offering.

Vivendi is re-evaluating its businesses as chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou looks to overhaul the company’s structure and restore investor confidence after the stock fell to a nine-year low in April. Vivendi acquired GVT for USD 4.18 billion in 2009. GVT has helped drive Vivendi’s revenue growth and may be worth EUR 5.2 billion, according to estimates in April by Morgan Stanley.

Back in July, Vivendi spokesman Jean-Louis Erneux said that he was seeking a buyer for Vivendi’s stake in video-game maker Activision Blizzard. Vivendi may sell the stake to Activision after finding little interest from potential buyers, according to another person familiar with the matter. Vivendi’s chairman is interested in exploring a de-emphasis of the group’s telecommunications businesses, which he believes require too much investment to be successful and lack scale, people familiar with the matter said in June.

Categories:

Fixed

Companies:

GVT,  Vivendi

Countries:

Brazil

Tags:

Shareholders & subsidiaries, Internet Access, M&A buyouts & divestments

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Vivendi appoints Charlier as head of telecoms

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