More Vivendi Universal news

[NebariNookiee]

French Authorities Raid Vivendi HQ

PARIS (AP) - French authorities searched the headquarters of Vivendi Universal on Thursday as part of an investigation into alleged financial irregularities under former chairman Jean-Marie Messier, judicial officials and police said.

Paris prosecutors on Oct. 29 began probing allegations that the firm published false information in order to bolster its share price.

The company confirmed Thursday that authorities had searched a number of offices.

Prosecutors are investigating allegations that Vivendi published false balance sheets for 2000 and 2001 and released false or misleading information on Vivendi Universal's prospects for the following years.

The prosecutor's office inquiry began after a complaint filed by APPAC, an association of minority shareholders.

Messier was ousted as chairman and CEO of Vivendi Universal in July and replaced by Jean-Rene Fourtou amid a major liquidity crisis and mounting debt at the company. Fourtou is trying to sell off assets and has launched a major restructuring plan.

[waltersgirl]

NebariNookiee
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Registered: Sep 2002
Location: Indianapolis, IN. United States
Posts: 77
More Vivendi Universal troubles
Nervous Times at Universal

Personnel at Universal Studios are anticipating the axe to fall on jobs and projects alike as debt-burdened Vivendi Universal, the Paris-based parent, prepares for a spinoff or sale, the Los Angeles Times reported today (Wednesday). The newspaper said that at a meeting in New York Tuesday with VU CEO Jean-René Fourtou, studio chief Ron Meyer outlined various cost-cutting scenarios that would result in savings of up to 10 percent next year. One Universal executive told the Times that there was a great deal of "anxiety" at the studio over the budget discussions. In particular, the newspaper said, the studio is taking a closer look at the planned production of Van Helsing, which reunites Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf Man under the direction of The Mummy director Stephen Sommers -- a film that originally had been budgeted at just under $160 million. One producer on the Universal lot told the Times."The studio is insisting on making lower-budget movies, and they're making everybody take less money."


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12-11-2002 12:48 PM



CosmicTheorist
Mostly harmless.

Registered: Oct 2002
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Posts: 15
So many posts today with Vivendi news in them!
Two articles in the NY Post about troubles between Barry Diller an his French Vivendi colleagues. One article says that Vivendi tried to do a deal with Dreamworks as some sort of preemptive strike to stop Diller from doing a deal with Dreamworks. The other article says that Vivendi officials in France are exasperated with Diller and want him out. Now this little piece. All these leaks make it seem like something is in the works. I wonder how long it will take before we find out what the frell is going on here!

What really grabbed my attention was the $160 million dollar budget figure for a remake of "The House of Frankenstein"! At least I think "House of Frankenstein" is the name of the old Universal movie that starred Boris Karloff as a mad doctor who was treating Dracula, played by John Carradine, and the Wolfman, played by Lon Chaney Jr, of course, for their respective supernatural afflictions all while trying to revive Frankenstein's monster. Those old timers must be having a good laugh about that budget from their graves. 160 million dollars. Last summer when Barry Diller was "squeezing" Universal's entertainment assets, couldn't he have cut the 4 or 5 million dollars that he wanted Skiffy to cut from Farscape's budget from that movie's budget; they could have taken that kind of whack and never even noticed! 160 million dollars.

I pulled the 4-5 million dollar figure almost, but not completely, from the air. Some time ago I remember reading that Skiffy wanted to cut their share of Farscape's expenses by $200 thousand per episode; that works out as a $4.4 million cut for season 5. $4.4 million is the price for Farscape's life, if I remembered that $200K figure correctly. Whatever ... Skiffy's share of Farscape's expenses were $16.5 million for season 5, a 10th of that one movie budget. Why was Barry wasting time "squeezing" such peanuts out of Skiffy when the movie side of Universal had such tempting targets?

160 million dollars! Dren!



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12-11-2002 04:04 PM



rabensam
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Registered: Sep 2002
Location: New York
Posts: 47
The logic behind a decision like this is that Universal could expect to see considerably more revenue from an obscenely expensive remake of House of Frankenstein than from another season of Farscape. They would stand to reap not only domestic box office but also overseas box office and own the video and DVD distribution. In the case of Farscape, all Vivendi Universal ever sees are the ad revenues for each episode aired on Sci Fi -- they see nothing of the overseas revenue, and don't get a piece of the home video market, which belongs to ADV.

I agree with your views -- Universal would have been better off spreading their money around more widely among their divisions, rather than concentrating so much in any single project -- but they did have a logic behind that choice.

A big problem for our efforts is that Vivendi/Universal/USA/Sci Fi/future owner to be named later is never going to be as strongly motivated to support a Farscape which they don't create or own as to support something they own entirely. The only thing any broadcast outlet is going to gain from FS is the income from commercial time. And that hinges on the ratings.

Just thought I'd save MediaSavant the trouble of making the same post...


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12-11-2002 04:45 PM



waltersgirl
theleft brain
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Registered: Nov 2001
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i'm tapping on my keyboard here trying not to rant.

we operate from a position of strength because we've got nothing to lose. the show is already cancelled. we can sit around and speculate on all the reasons why the odds of this are frelled beyond belief but that will get us what? absolutely nothing. so, and i don't mean to be rude or disrespectful or anything, but, can we all try to get beyond that? it's not going away, and it's not going to change. and i understand, genuinely and truly, that not everyone has the "whatever" to devote to the campaign. and that's okay. i'd just appreciate it if those folks could let the rest of us do what inspires us.

and for the rant that i avoided writing cuz somebody did it infinitely better....go here.http://www.wdsection.com/redsplace/


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12-11-2002 10:56 PM



DangerWillRobinson
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Registered: Sep 2002
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 75

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by rabensam
.

A big problem for our efforts is that Vivendi/Universal/USA/Sci Fi/future owner to be named later is never going to be as strongly motivated to support a Farscape which they don't create or own as to support something they own entirely. The only thing any broadcast outlet is going to gain from FS is the income from commercial time. And that hinges on the ratings.

.
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Wasn't it ABC that said it was only going to take shows from Walt Disney productions or stuff that was in house because they wanted to "keep it all in the Family", I think the term is Synergy(sp). Where did this get them in the battle with the big three? Last I believe.

I could be wrong, but I think I remember reading that somewhere.



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12-11-2002 11:45 PM



Farsight
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Registered: Sep 2002
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Posts: 43
You are correct, DangerWill... that was their plan for a while, it failed, and they dropped terribly in the ratings. They have ditched that plan. The saying about putting all your eggs in one basket applies... There is safety in sharing profits w/ others, since you also share risks and losses. Besides, we all know how hard up Hollywood is for true talent, so any network that ignores 90% of the ideas out there is really banking on people who couldn't fill a partial schedule w/ quality, to now fill the ENTIRE schedule... oops.

I'd wager someone found "synergy" between the door and their own backside over that brainstorm...



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12-12-2002 12:16 AM



MediaSavant
Senior Member

Registered: Sep 2002
Location: Long Beach, NY
Posts: 257
Every network that's owned by a conglomerate these days gives preference, but not exclusivity, to "in-house" productions. I believe that last year over half of the pilots WB Network looked at were from WB, the studio.

The way to fight the preference is to be a hit that they can't do without.



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12-12-2002 03:36 AM



DangerWillRobinson
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Registered: Sep 2002
Location: Baltimore, MD
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I think in ABC's case they gave to much preference to "in house" productions, and look where it got them. I understand the need to save money, but if you have tunnel vision, sometimes you miss good things that might come your way and you really don't know if a show is going to be a hit, unless you give it a chance.



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12-12-2002 09:01 AM



DangerWillRobinson
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Registered: Sep 2002
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 75

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Farsight

I'd wager someone found "synergy" between the door and their own backside over that brainstorm...
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Alas, maybe ABC learned there lesson, but it seems from reading some of the articles that have been posted on varies threads here that other exec still have synergy on there mind



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12-12-2002 09:06 AM



Nato
Member

Registered: Sep 2002
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 54
Jim Hill Media, which apparently covers all things Disney as if it had been surgically attached to them, recently posted an article about how Disney's quietly considering buying the Jim Henson Company. (Yes, again.)

They've apparently worked a few deals with Kirchmedia, parent of EM/TV, which would open the door to a Disney/Muppet takeover.

If that's the case, Farscape might fall under the Disney banner of corporate synergy, and could conceivably find a home at ABC. (It's unlikely, but...) I know that ABC bet big, and lost spectacularly, on its apparently lousy Dinotopia series. Maybe a lavish sci-fi show with a proven audience and great critical reviews would be just what it needs...?

Here's the article: http://www.jimhillmedia.com/articles/12102002.1.htm

Thinking wishfully,
Nato

[blue]

There's a big article today on the front page of the Arts section of the NY Times about the proposed sale by Vivendi of the Seagram art collection, estimated worth $15 million. And here's another news article today:

Paris Police Raid Vivendi Office and Home of Former Chief
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

ARIS, Dec. 12 — In a fresh blow to Vivendi Universal's bruised business image, the French police today raided the corporation's Paris headquarters as well as the home of its former chairman, Jean-Marie Messier, as part of a continuing investigation into possible falsification of the group's accounts for 2000 and 2001.

The unannounced search by the Paris prosecutor's office came some six months after a similar raid was ordered by the Commission des Operations de Bourse, France's stock market supervisory body.
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Vivendi Universal's stock, which has been nudging upward in recent weeks, fell with news of the police move. After opening at 16.33 euros this morning (about $16.40), it stood at 16.08 euros, 0.62 percent down, shortly before the Paris exchange closed.

After Mr. Messier's home was searched, the former Vivendi chief executive, who was ousted from his post in July, canceled a planned meeting with the Anglo-American Press Association in Paris.

In recent weeks, Mr. Messier has been trying to rebuild his image both by publishing a memoir of his downfall, "My True Diary," and by forming an investment counseling firm.

Vivendi, which is now run by Jean-René Fourtou, is currently also under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States.

The latest French investigation into Mr. Messier's management began in October after a complaint by an association of minority shareholders.

They charged that Vivendi misrepresented its financial health both in its year-end accounts for 2000 and 2001 and in forecasts of its business prospects. This had the effect of artificially inflating the share price, they complained.

Mr. Messier has denied all the allegations that have been made against him.

He nonetheless left the corporation in dire straits, with a gigantic debt that has forced it into a major selloff of assets in recent months.

The New York Times reported today that Vivendi Universal had disclosed plans to sell off its prized modern art collection, which has long been a hallmark of the Seagram Building on Park Avenue.

[DangerWillRobinson]

If Henson is to be sold from what I have read it should happen by the end of the year. I guess we will find out soon.