Eyeing Vivendi's Assets

摘要

It was a financial performance that only an AOL Time Warner shareholder could fully appreciate: In 2002, Vivendi Universal lost $25.6 billion, the biggest loss ever for a company based in France. The company took a $20 biEion write-down on the value of its assets, due largely to the misguided merger with Seagram two years ago. Most of it was applied to the U.S.-based Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE) properties, acquired in the Seagram transaction. "It would be a euphemism to say it was a difficult year," Vivendi CEO Jean-Rene Foutou deadpanned last week. That would be an understatement all right.