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Vivendi SE is a French
mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...
holding company headquartered in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Widely known as the owner of
Gameloft Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games m ...
,
Groupe Canal+ Groupe Canal+ is a French mass media company. It is owned and controlled by Vivendi and has a film library in excess of 5,000 films. Vivendi has sold some parts of Canal+ to private investors which are still using the name of Canal+. It is headqu ...
,
Havas Havas SA is a French multinational advertising and public relations company, headquartered in Paris, France. It operates in more than 100 countries and is one of the largest advertising and communications groups in the world. Havas consists of ...
,
Editis Editis is a French corporate group, group of publishing companies, subsidiary of French group Vivendi. It is the second-largest Media of France, French publishing group, after Hachette Livre. History Editis was created in January 2004 by the reg ...
, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and
Dailymotion Dailymotion is a French video-sharing technology platform owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg and Hearst Digital Media. It is among the earliest known platforms to support HD (720p) resolution video. ...
, the company has activities in
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
,
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
,
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
,
book publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
, print press,
communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
,
tickets Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery, Lottery ticket * Parking violation, Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Ticket system, Toll ticket, a slip of paper use ...
and
video hosting service An online video platform (OVP), provided by a video hosting service, enables users to upload, convert, store and play back video content on the Internet, often via a structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally u ...
s.
Bolloré Bolloré SE () is a French conglomerate headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. Founded in 1822, the company has interests in Vivendi, international freight forwarding, oil storage and pipelines in France, solid state ...
is the largest shareholder at approximately 30% of the company. Vivendi's chairman
Yannick Bolloré Yannick Bolloré (born 1 February 1980) is a French businessman, currently the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Havas, the fifth largest global communications company, and chairman of the supervisory board of Vivendi, a global entert ...
is also CEO of
Havas Havas SA is a French multinational advertising and public relations company, headquartered in Paris, France. It operates in more than 100 countries and is one of the largest advertising and communications groups in the world. Havas consists of ...
, which was spun-off from Vivendi in 2000 but has since become a subsidiary.


History


Origins

On 14 December 1853, a water company named Compagnie Générale des Eaux (CGE) was created by an imperial decree of
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
. In 1854, CGE obtained a concession in order to supply water to the public in
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
, serving in that capacity for over a hundred years. In 1861, it obtained a 50-year concession with the City of Paris. CGE also supplied water to
Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
,
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
(from 1880),
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
(from 1882) and
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
(from 1883). For more than a century, Compagnie Générale des Eaux remained largely focused on the water sector. Following the appointment of
Guy Dejouany Guy Dejouany (15 December 1920 – 14 November 2011) was the CEO of Compagnie Générale des Eaux, (currently known as Vivendi, a French company part of the CAC 40) from 1976 to 1995. Guy Dejouany worked as Chief Executive Officer of Vinci PL ...
as CEO in 1976, CGE extended its activities into other sectors with a series of takeovers. Beginning in 1980, CGE began diversifying its operations from water into waste management, energy, transport services, and
construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...
and property. It acquired the ''Compagnie Générale d'Entreprises Automobiles'' (CGEA), specialized in industrial vehicles, which was later divided into two branches: Connex (later Veolia Transport) in 1999 and Onyx Environnement (later Veolia Environmental Services) in 1989. CGE then acquired the ''Compagnie Générale de Chauffe'', and later the Montenay group, with these companies later becoming the Energy Services division of CGE, and later renamed "
Dalkia Dalkia is an energy service company, subsidiary of the EDF Group. Its two main businesses consist in making the most of local renewables and unlocking energy savings. Dalkia develops alternative renewables, such as biomass, geothermal, biogas an ...
" in 1998. In 1983, CGE helped to found
Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
, the first
pay-TV Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but ...
channel in France, and in the 1990s, they began expanding into telecommunications and
mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...
, especially after
Jean-Marie Messier Jean-Marie Messier (born 13 December 1956) is a French businessman who was chairman and chief executive of the multinational media conglomerate Vivendi (formerly Vivendi Universal) until 2002. He is also frequently referred to by the nickname "J2 ...
succeeded
Guy Dejouany Guy Dejouany (15 December 1920 – 14 November 2011) was the CEO of Compagnie Générale des Eaux, (currently known as Vivendi, a French company part of the CAC 40) from 1976 to 1995. Guy Dejouany worked as Chief Executive Officer of Vinci PL ...
on 27 June 1996, acquiring companies such as the
Babelsberg Studio Babelsberg Film Studio (german: Filmstudio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world only preceded by the Danish Nordisk Film (est. 1906), producing films since ...
. In 1996, CGE created
Neuf Cegetel Neuf Cegetel was a French Wireline (networking), wireline telecommunications service provider and a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). It offered various telecommunications services to consumers, enterprises and wholesale customers, ranking ...
to take advantage of the 1998 deregulation of the French telecommunications market, accelerating the move into the media sector which would culminate in the 2000 demerger into Vivendi Universal and Vivendi Environnement (
Veolia Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. It pr ...
).


Creation of "Vivendi"

In 1997, Compagnie Générale des Eaux changed its name to ''Vivendi'', and sold off its property and construction divisions the following year to what would become
Vinci SA Vinci (corporately styled VINCI) is a French concessions and construction company founded in 1899 as Société Générale d'Enterprises. Its head office is in Nanterre, in the western suburbs of Paris. Vinci is listed on Euronext's Paris stock ...
. Vivendi went on to acquire stakes in or merge with
Maroc Telecom Maroc Telecom (Acronym: IAM, ar, اتصالات المغرب) is the main telecommunications company in Morocco. Currently employing around 11,178 employees, it is the largest telecommunications network in the country with 8 regional delegations ...
,
Havas Havas SA is a French multinational advertising and public relations company, headquartered in Paris, France. It operates in more than 100 countries and is one of the largest advertising and communications groups in the world. Havas consists of ...
,
Cendant Software Vivendi Games was an American video game publisher and holding company based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1996 as CUC Software, the publishing subsidiary of CUC International, after the latter acquired video game companies Davidson & Associ ...
, Grupo Anaya, and NetHold, a large Continental European pay-TV operator. Beginning in 1998, Vivendi launched digital channels in Italy, Spain, Poland, Scandinavia, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In June 1999, Vivendi merged with
Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...
, the exchange ratio for the merger fixed at three Vivendi shares for every two Pathé shares. ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' estimated the value of the deal at US$2.59 billion. Following the completion of the merger, Vivendi retained Pathé's interests in
British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC Sky Group Limited is a British media conglomerate, media and telecommunications conglomerate, which is a division of Comcast, and headquartered in London. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Ital ...
and CanalSatellite, a French broadcasting corporation, then sold all remaining assets to Jérôme Seydoux's family-owned holding company, ''Fornier SA'', who changed its name to Pathé. Vivendi Universal SA was created on 8 January 2001 with the merger of the Vivendi media empire with
Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
television networks and the acquisition of media assets of Canadian company
Seagram Company Ltd The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the lar ...
, owner of
Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
. Vivendi Universal acquired MP3.com and the leading American publisher
Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
in year 2001. To raise the funds, Vivendi Universal sold its trade and medical publishing businesses to a group led by
Cinven Cinven is a global private equity firm founded in 1977, with offices in nine international locations in Guernsey, London, New York, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Luxembourg, Madrid, and Hong Kong that acquires Europe and United States based corporat ...
.


Vivendi Environnement

Vivendi Environnement Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. It pr ...
was formed in 1999 by Vivendi to consolidate its environmental divisions, which were CGEA Transport, Onyx Environnement (now Veolia Environmental Services),
Dalkia Dalkia is an energy service company, subsidiary of the EDF Group. Its two main businesses consist in making the most of local renewables and unlocking energy savings. Dalkia develops alternative renewables, such as biomass, geothermal, biogas an ...
and CGE water division. As a result, CGEA Transport was renamed Connex (later Veolia Transport), and CGE's water division was renamed Vivendi Water (now
Veolia Water Veolia Water (formerly Vivendi Water, originally Compagnie Générale des Eaux) is the water division of the French company Veolia Environnement and the world's largest supplier of water services. In 2009, the group posted revenues of €12.5 ...
). In July 2000, Vivendi Environnement was divested through
IPOs In demonology, Ipos is an Earl and powerful Prince of Hell (a Duke to some authors) who has thirty-six legions of demons under his command. He knows and can reveal all things, past, present and future (only the future to some authors, and past ...
in Paris and later New York in October 2001. Initially, Vivendi Universal retained a 70% stake in Vivendi Environnement in 2000, but by December 2002, it was reduced to 20.4%. In 2003, Vivendi Environnement was renamed to Veolia Environnement.


Corporate loss

Vivendi Universal disclosed a corporate loss of €23.3 billion in its 2002 annual report. It responded with financial reshuffling, trying to shore up media holdings while selling off shares in its spin-off companies. Amid intense media scrutiny, its chairman and CEO,
Jean-Marie Messier Jean-Marie Messier (born 13 December 1956) is a French businessman who was chairman and chief executive of the multinational media conglomerate Vivendi (formerly Vivendi Universal) until 2002. He is also frequently referred to by the nickname "J2 ...
(who had overseen the most dramatic phase of the company's diversification), was subsequently replaced by Jean-René Fourtou. Messier was found guilty of embezzlement in 2011, but not before he was paid over US$20 million as part of his severance package. The company reduced its stake in
Vivendi Environnement Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. It pr ...
to 40% and sold its stake in
Vinci SA Vinci (corporately styled VINCI) is a French concessions and construction company founded in 1899 as Société Générale d'Enterprises. Its head office is in Nanterre, in the western suburbs of Paris. Vinci is listed on Euronext's Paris stock ...
. The company then began reorganizing to stave off
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
, announcing a strategy to sell non-strategic assets. Its largest single shareholder was the family of
Edgar Bronfman Jr. Edgar Miles Bronfman Jr. (born May 16, 1955) is an American businessman who currently serves as a Managing Partner at Accretive LLC, a private equity firm focused on creating and investing in technology companies. He previously served as CEO of ...
, who was head of Seagram at the time of the merger. Vivendi sold its stake in
Vizzavi Vodafone live! was the brand name for the multimedia portal service of mobile phone operator Vodafone, offering news content, picture messaging, instant messaging, email, and downloadable ringtones and games. The service officially launched on 24 O ...
to
Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...
, with the exception of Vizzavi France. It also sold 20.4% of Vivendi Environnement's capital to a group of investors, and its stake in North American satellite operator
EchoStar Communications Corporation EchoStar Corporation is an American company, a worldwide provider of satellite communication and Internet services through its Hughes Network Systems and EchoStar Satellite Services business segments. EchoStar is based out of unincorporated Arapa ...
. It also sold its European book publishing to
Lagardère Lagardère may refer to: * Lagardère Group, a French media group * Jean-Luc Lagardère (1928–2003), French engineer and businessman and CEO of the Lagardère Group * Arnaud Lagardère (born 1961), French businessman and son of Jean-Luc Lagardèr ...
. It also sold Houghton Mifflin to Thomas H Lee, Blackstone and
Bain Bain may refer to: People * Bain (surname), origin and list of people with the surname * Bain of Tulloch, Scottish family * Bain Stewart, Australian film producer, husband of Leah Purcell * Saint Bain (died c. 711 AD), Bishop of Thérouanne, Ab ...
consortium for US$1.66 billion. Also, in 2002, Vivendi Universal sold the Belgian and Dutch activities of its subsidiary Scoot Europe to Kapitol, the parent company of online directory
Infobel Infobel is a Brussels, Belgium-based online international telephone directory. Launched in 1995 by Kapitol SA, Infobel was the first online telephone directory. As of 2014, Infobel had a database that contained over 140 million telephone numbers. ...
. In 2003, Vivendi Universal sold Canal+ Technologies to
Thomson SA Thomson may refer to: Names * Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin * Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson Businesses and organizations * SGS-Thomson Mic ...
; Tele+ to
News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
and
Telecom Italia Gruppo TIM, legally TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.), also known as the TIM Group in English, is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples, (with the Telecom Italia Tower) which provides fixe ...
. It also sold its 26.3% interest in Xfera. Also in 2003, it sold its consumer magazines to
Socpresse Socpresse was a French corporation which controlled the conservative daily newspaper ''Le Figaro'', the weekly magazine ''L'Express'', 40% of the weekly ''Le Journal du Dimanche'', '' Valeurs Actuelles'', and the football club FC Nantes. The com ...
and its free newspapers to France Antilles. On 1 December, Vivendi Universal closed a deal to sell MP3.com to
CNET ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
. Despite predictions that it would be unable to raise the cash needed, Vivendi Universal bought out one of the two minority shareholders in Cegetel, taking its holding to 60 percent, with Vodafone holding the remaining 40 percent. Management viewed the mobile communications firm as a core asset once the bulk of media assets had been sold off.


Further acquisitions, mergers and divestments

In 2004, 80% of the Vivendi Universal subsidiary was sold to GE, to form
NBC Universal The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
, with Vivendi retaining a 20 percent stake. At the same time, it sold a 50% stake in
Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
and
StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...
to the new company. Vivendi also sold its interests in Kencell (re-branded Celtel, Kenya),
Monaco Telecom Monaco Telecom is the main telecommunications provider in the Principality of Monaco. The company was founded in 1997 following a decision by the government of Monaco to privatize the state-owned Office Monégasque des Téléphones. Internati ...
and
Sportfive Sportfive is an international sports marketing agency operating globally with offices around the world. The headquarters of Sportfive is based in Hamburg, Germany. History Sportfive was formed in 2001 when the European Commission unconditionall ...
(which it held through Canal+ Group), and sold
Newsworld International Newsworld International (NWI) was an American news-oriented cable and satellite television network that operated from June 1994 to July 2005. The network carried a mix of newscasts from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and other internation ...
to the business partnership of
Joel Hyatt Joel Z. Hyatt (born Joel Hyatt Zylberberg; May 6, 1950) is an American entrepreneur and former politician. He founded Hyatt Legal Services, in which capacity he became a household name for many years, as he was featured in his firm's nationwide ...
and former
Vice-President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice pr ...
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
. Vivendi also sold
Babelsberg Studio Babelsberg Film Studio (german: Filmstudio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world only preceded by the Danish Nordisk Film (est. 1906), producing films since ...
. On 16 December 2005, it was announced that Canal Plus would merge with TPS, France's second largest Pay-TV provider. Vivendi owned 85% of the combined entity. On 17 January 2006, Vivendi Universal announced it would end its
American Depositary Receipt An American depositary receipt (ADR, and sometimes spelled ''depository'') is a negotiable security that represents securities of a foreign company and allows that company's shares to trade in the U.S. financial markets. Shares of many non-U.S ...
program and its listing on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
by the end of the second quarter of 2006, due to lowered trading volume on its shares and high costs. On 20 April 2006, Vivendi in its current form came into existence, following the sale of an 80% stake in the Vivendi Universal unit to
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
to form
NBC Universal The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
(merging GE's NBC unit and Vivendi's Vivendi Universal unit) and the gradual recovery of the company from its disastrous over-expansion in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. The company announced that shareholders had approved the name change to "Vivendi". In August 2006, Vivendi signed a deal with Spiralfrog to distribute Vivendi's songs online in the United States and Canada. On 2 December 2007, Vivendi announced that it would be merging its game publishing unit with
Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
in a $18.8 billion deal.Guitar Hero meets Warcraft in Vivendi-Activision deal
- Reuters
This will allow the merged company,
Activision Blizzard Activision Blizzard, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Santa Monica, California. It was founded in July 2008 through the merger of Activision, Inc. (the publicly traded parent company of Activision Publishing) and Vivendi ...
, to rival
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
, the world's biggest video games publisher. The merger closed on 9 July 2008, for $9.8 billion. Vivendi held a 52% majority stake in the new business. On 8 September 2009, Vivendi announced negotiations to buy the Brazilian phone operator
Global Village Telecom Global Village Telecom (GVT) was a Brazilian telecommunications company that offers services on landline telephone, broadband for both consumer and business, Pay TV and voice over IP. GVT has been in the market since the end of 2000. GVT today op ...
(GVT). Vivendi took control of GVT at a cost of 56 reais per share, on 13 November, trumping
Telefónica Telefónica, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the world. It provides fixed and mobile telephony, broadba ...
's bid. Geneva-based Crédit des Alpes was the investment bank to the transaction, originating the acquisition proposal and advising GVT's majority shareholders. On 3 December 2009, GE announced it would purchase Vivendi's stake in NBC Universal, which would become a joint venture between GE and
Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
. Vivendi sold its stake in NBC Universal on 25 January 2011. On 4 April 2011, Vodafone sold its 44% stake in French mobile service provider
SFR SFR (; ''Société française du radiotéléphone'', ) is a French telecommunications company. As of December 2015, it had 21.9 million customers in Metropolitan France for mobile services, and provided 6.35 million households with high-spee ...
to Vivendi for about $11 billion and giving Vivendi full control of its largest unit. In 2012, Vivendi announced having entered a strategic review of its assets and decided to refocus its activities on media and content activities while maximizing its telecoms assets. On 25 July 2013, Activision Blizzard announced the buyout of 429 million shares from Vivendi for $5.83 billion, dropping the shareholder from a 63% stake to 11.8% by the end of the deal in September, ending Vivendi's majority ownership of Activision Blizzard. In November 2013, Vivendi also sold its 53% stake in
Maroc Telecom Maroc Telecom (Acronym: IAM, ar, اتصالات المغرب) is the main telecommunications company in Morocco. Currently employing around 11,178 employees, it is the largest telecommunications network in the country with 8 regional delegations ...
to
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
-based
Etisalat Etisalat by e& is an Emirati-based multinational telecommunications services provider, currently operating in 16 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It is the 18th largest mobile network operator in the world by number of subscri ...
for around $4.2 billion. Vivendi also confirmed in November 2013 its intention to launch a demerger plan which would result in Vivendi becoming an international media group consisting primarily of Canal+, Universal Music Group and GVT, while SFR would be listed separately on the stock market. As a result of the foregoing, Vivendi group results for the first semester 2014 are in a strong growth, witnessing the success of its repositioning strategy. Net income was up 84,8% to €1.9 billion. In August 2014 Vivendi sells GVT to Telefônica Vivo, a subsidiary of
Telefónica Telefónica, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the world. It provides fixed and mobile telephony, broadba ...
in Brazil. The moves have allowed Vivendi to rapidly pay down debt and increase cash returns to shareholders while leaving it with ammunition to do acquisitions of its own. Indeed, once the SFR deal closes, Vivendi will have a cash pile of around €5 billion, leaving it with some room to maneuver even after it pays down debt and returns nearly €5 billion in dividends and share buybacks to shareholders. Vivendi's priority is now content. The French group is expected to expand its assets in the content industries in the coming year. In 2014, Vivendi decided to sell mobile companies
SFR SFR (; ''Société française du radiotéléphone'', ) is a French telecommunications company. As of December 2015, it had 21.9 million customers in Metropolitan France for mobile services, and provided 6.35 million households with high-spee ...
(France) to
Patrick Drahi Patrick Drahi ( he, פטריק דרהי; born 20 August 1963) is a French–Israeli billionaire, businessman telecoms, media tycoon, and investor, magnate. He has been living in Switzerland since 1999.. He is the founder and controlling shareho ...
's company, Altice, and GVT (Brazil) to the Brazilian company Telefônica Vivo. On 28 May 2014, Vivendi sold half of its remaining shares (nearly 41.5 million shares) in Activision Blizzard for $850 million, reducing its stake to 6%. In April 2015, it was announced that a shareholder in the company
Bolloré Bolloré SE () is a French conglomerate headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. Founded in 1822, the company has interests in Vivendi, international freight forwarding, oil storage and pipelines in France, solid state ...
raised its stake from 10.2 percent to 12.01 percent for a total fee of €568 million. In 2015, Vivendi bought 80% share in
Dailymotion Dailymotion is a French video-sharing technology platform owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg and Hearst Digital Media. It is among the earliest known platforms to support HD (720p) resolution video. ...
. According to the Wall Street Journal, the "French media group offered around $273 million for streaming service". Vivendi was in talks with Orange, to Buy 80% stake in Dailymotion. Also, Vivendi announced extra payouts in compromise with P. Schoenfeld Asset Management shareholder. It was revealed in October 2015 that Vivendi would increase its stake in
Telecom Italia Gruppo TIM, legally TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.), also known as the TIM Group in English, is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples, (with the Telecom Italia Tower) which provides fixe ...
to around 19% of the ordinary share capital as part of its aims to increase its influence in the group. As of May 2017, Vivendi owns 24.6% of the company with Vivendi's CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine becoming Executive Chairman of Telecom Italia. In October 2015, Vivendi bought minority stakes in the French video game studios
Gameloft Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games m ...
and
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
. On 17 December 2015, Vivendi acquired a 64.4% majority stake in Belgian online radio aggregator
Radionomy Radionomy was an online platform that provided tools for operating online radio stations. It was part of Radionomy Group, a company which later acquired the online streaming platform SHOUTcast from Nullsoft, and eventually consolidated Radionomy i ...
(including its media player platform
Winamp Winamp is a media player for Microsoft Windows originally developed by Justin Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev by their company Nullsoft, which they later sold to AOL in 1999 for $80 million. It was then acquired by Radionomy in 2014. Sinc ...
and internet radio streaming software Shoutcast). Its shareholders, including its employees and U.S.-based investment firm
Union Square Ventures Union Square Ventures (USV) is an American venture capital firm based in New York City. The firm has backed more than 130 startups, including Twitter, Etsy, Stripe, Coinbase, Zynga, Tumblr, Stack Overflow, Meetup, Kickstarter, MongoDB, Flurry, ...
, however, retained their stakes in the company. In June 2016, after having triggered a mandatory
tender offer In corporate finance, a tender offer is a type of public takeover bid. The tender offer is a public, open offer or invitation (usually announced in a newspaper advertisement) by a prospective acquirer to all stockholders of a publicly traded corpo ...
in February 2016 by reaching 30% ownership, and then becoming its largest shareholder, Vivendi completed a
hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...
of Gameloft with the acquisition of its founders' stake. At the same time, Vivendi also further increased its stake in Ubisoft, which had led to concern from the company's management that Vivendi was also planning a hostile takeover of Ubisoft, however as of 2018 Vivendi is no longer in the position to do so. Vivendi (once the owner of
Blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling b ...
, later Activision Blizzard), searching for a new games publisher property has started investing in both
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
and
Gameloft Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games m ...
. The brothers in charge of Ubisoft and Gameloft, Yves Guillemot and Michel Guillemot respectively, view the investments as a hostile takeover attempt, and are raising capital from within the family and from Canadian investors to maintain control of the companies. As of 8 June 2016, Vivendi has acquired a controlling stake in Gameloft. In news from 11 September 2016 Yves Guillemot is set to buy an additional 3.5% of Ubisoft shares to raise his stake to 12.5% to attempt to block a takeover from Vivendi. Yves has been attempting to lobby other shareholders to prevent them selling their shares to Vivendi. As of 20 March 2018, Vivendi has sold all its shares in Ubisoft and
Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...
has bought in in their place. In an auction on 6 June, Vivendi won a bid to acquire Flavorus from
SFX Entertainment LiveStyle, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based live events conglomerate founded by media entrepreneur Robert F. X. Sillerman. The company was formed in June 2012 as SFX Entertainment—the new incarnation of Sillerman's previous company of the same nam ...
for $4 million. Also that month, it acquired Paddington and Company Limited-owner of
Paddington Bear Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book ''A Bear Called Paddington'' and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond, a ...
and other properties, and The Copyrights Group. Vivendi declared that it owned 12.3% of
Mediaset Mediaset Italia S.p.A., also known as Mediaset, is an Italian-based mass media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE - MediaForEurope. Founded in 1987 by former ...
in December 2016. In September 2020, Vivendi owns 28.8% of Mediaset. In January 2019, Vivendi completed its €900 million acquisition of
Editis Editis is a French corporate group, group of publishing companies, subsidiary of French group Vivendi. It is the second-largest Media of France, French publishing group, after Hachette Livre. History Editis was created in January 2004 by the reg ...
, one of France's major book publishers. In 2019, Vivendi acquired Nigeria's film studio ROK Studios which included it's linear channels and VOD service, IROKO+. At the end of the first quarter of 2020, Vivendi completed a partial sale of
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
(UMG) to a consortium led by
Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...
, a Chinese media conglomerate. The amount of stake of the world's largest
record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
group that has been sold to the consortium is 10% and the valuation of which was $3.3 billion. The Tencent-led consortium retained an option to purchase another 10% at the same valuation until January 2021, which they opted to exercise in December 2020.
Pershing Square Holdings Pershing Square Holdings is a large British investment trust dedicated to long-term investments in North American companies. Established in 2012, the company is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The chairman is Anne Farlow. The fund is managed ...
later acquired 10% of UMG prior to its
IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
on the
Euronext Amsterdam Euronext Amsterdam is a stock exchange based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Formerly known as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, it merged on 22 September 2000 with the Brussels Stock Exchange and the Paris Stock Exchange to form Euronext. The reg ...
stock exchange. The company went public on September 21, 2021, at a valuation of €46 billion. In April 2020, Vivendi bought a 10.6% stake in
Lagardère Group Lagardère S.A. () is an international group with operations in over 40 countries. It is headquartered in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The group was created in 1992 as Matra, Hachette & Lagardère. Headed by Arnaud Lagardère, it is focuse ...
, another French media group. The investment was made at the time when Lagardère, the assets of which include the world's third-largest book publisher
Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...
, is faced with attacks from a group of fierce and well-funded activist investors, and a year after Vivendi completed its takeover of Editis, the smaller domestic book publisher. By August, Vivendi has doubled its stake in Lagardère to 23.5%, becoming the largest shareholder of the rival group. In October 2020, Vivendi acquired a 12% stake in South Africa's media company,
MultiChoice MultiChoice is a South African company that operates DStv, a major satellite television service in Sub-Saharan Africa and GOtv, a minor service operating in over 9 countries of this area and Showmax service. MultiChoice was formed out of the sub ...
. In December 2020, Vivendi announced a deal to buy the French media conglomerate Prisma Media from
Bertelsmann Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...
. In January 2021, Vivendi bought a 9,9% stake in the Spanish media conglomerate Prisa. In September 2021, Vivendi distributed 60% of its UMG shares to shareholders and retaining 10% shares in an IPO at
Euronext Amsterdam Euronext Amsterdam is a stock exchange based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Formerly known as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, it merged on 22 September 2000 with the Brussels Stock Exchange and the Paris Stock Exchange to form Euronext. The reg ...
. In September 2021, Amber Capital has informed Vivendi of its intention to sell all its shares in Lagardère (17.93 of the share capital) and has invited Vivendi to make an acquisition offer. Vivendi has acquired Amber Capital's shares for 24.1 euros per share. The transaction will be completed by December 15, 2022, after gaining the approvals required by the current regulations in light of the takeover that could result from the mandatory public offer following this acquisition. In December 2021, Vivendi announced its plan to accelerate the purchase of Amber's stake in Lagardere. , Vivendi owns 57.3% of Lagardère following the latter's IPO. Vivendi has offered to divest the book publisher
Editis Editis is a French corporate group, group of publishing companies, subsidiary of French group Vivendi. It is the second-largest Media of France, French publishing group, after Hachette Livre. History Editis was created in January 2004 by the reg ...
, as Lagardère already owns
Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...
. In July 2022, Vivendi announced its plan to spin off Editis, anticipating the European competition regulators not to allow Editis and Lagardere Publishing to merge.


Corporate governance

As of 31 December 2019, Vivendi ownership is as follows: *
Bolloré Bolloré SE () is a French conglomerate headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. Founded in 1822, the company has interests in Vivendi, international freight forwarding, oil storage and pipelines in France, solid state ...
(27.06%) *
Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English as SocGen (), is a French-based multinational financial services company founded in 1864, registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby in La Défense. Société Générale ...
(5.29%) *
Caisse des dépôts et consignations The Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC; ) is a French public sector financial institution created in 1816, and part of the government institutions under the control of the Parliament. Often described as the "investment arm" of the French ...
(3.23%) * Vivendi Employees (2.95%) * DNCA Finance (0,31%) * Self Control (1,18%) * Other Shareholders (59.99%)


Supervisory board

As of 16 May 2020, the board is comprised as follows: *
Yannick Bolloré Yannick Bolloré (born 1 February 1980) is a French businessman, currently the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Havas, the fifth largest global communications company, and chairman of the supervisory board of Vivendi, a global entert ...
(chairman), CEO of
Havas Havas SA is a French multinational advertising and public relations company, headquartered in Paris, France. It operates in more than 100 countries and is one of the largest advertising and communications groups in the world. Havas consists of ...
* Philippe Bénacin, chairman and CEO of Interparfums * Cyrille Bolloré, former chairman and CEO of
Bolloré Bolloré SE () is a French conglomerate headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. Founded in 1822, the company has interests in Vivendi, international freight forwarding, oil storage and pipelines in France, solid state ...
* Paulo Cardoso, treasurer of
Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
* Laurent Dassault, co-managing director of
Dassault Group Dassault Group (; also GIM Dassault or Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault SAS) is a French corporate group, group of companies established in 1929 with the creation of Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (now Dassault Aviation) by Marcel Dassault, a ...
* Dominique Delport, former executive at M6,
Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
, and
Havas Havas SA is a French multinational advertising and public relations company, headquartered in Paris, France. It operates in more than 100 countries and is one of the largest advertising and communications groups in the world. Havas consists of ...
* Véronique Driot-Argentin, Vivendi HR executive * Aliza Jabès, chairwoman of NUXE * Cathia Lawson-Hall, executive at
Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English as SocGen (), is a French-based multinational financial services company founded in 1864, registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby in La Défense. Société Générale ...
* Sandrine Le Bihan, Vivendi legal executive * Michèle Reiser, filmmaker and culture commissioner * Katie Stanton, general partner of
Moxxie Ventures This is a list of significant characters from the adult animated series ''Hazbin Hotel'' and web series ''Helluva Boss''—created, directed, written and produced by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. Some of these characters were originally developed ...
* Athina Vasilogiannaki, legal and business affairs director of
Minos EMI Minos EMI is a record company based in Athens, Greece. The company serves as the Greek record label and offices of the multinational Universal Music Group. EMI is credited for founding the record business in Greece in the 1930s, by producing th ...


Business units

Vivendi is a company primarily focused on digital entertainment. It owns the French TV channel and movie producer
Canal+ Group Groupe Canal+ is a French mass media company. It is owned and controlled by Vivendi and has a film library in excess of 5,000 films. Vivendi has sold some parts of Canal+ to private investors which are still using the name of Canal+. It is headqu ...
, book publisher
Editis Editis is a French corporate group, group of publishing companies, subsidiary of French group Vivendi. It is the second-largest Media of France, French publishing group, after Hachette Livre. History Editis was created in January 2004 by the reg ...
, communication company
Havas Group Havas SA is a French multinational corporation, multinational advertising agency, advertising and public relations company, headquartered in Paris, France. It operates in more than 100 countries and is one of the largest advertising and communi ...
, video games company
Gameloft Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games m ...
, and video hosting service
Dailymotion Dailymotion is a French video-sharing technology platform owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg and Hearst Digital Media. It is among the earliest known platforms to support HD (720p) resolution video. ...
. Vivendi's president
Vincent Bolloré Vincent Bolloré (born 1 April 1952) is a French billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of the investment group Bolloré. As of September 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$9 billion. Early life Bolloré was born in Boulogne- ...
, appointed in June 2014, aims at developing synergies between the company's subsidiaries now refocused on media: Canal+ Group, Vivendi Village, Dailymotion and Gameloft.


Groupe Canal+

Groupe Canal+ Groupe Canal+ is a French mass media company. It is owned and controlled by Vivendi and has a film library in excess of 5,000 films. Vivendi has sold some parts of Canal+ to private investors which are still using the name of Canal+. It is headqu ...
is the leading pay television group in France. It is also an international movie and television series producer and distributor with
StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...
. In November 2013, Vivendi became the exclusive owner of France's biggest pay-TV company.


Havas Group

Havas Group Havas SA is a French multinational corporation, multinational advertising agency, advertising and public relations company, headquartered in Paris, France. It operates in more than 100 countries and is one of the largest advertising and communi ...
is one of the largest global advertising and communications groups in the world. Since October 2017, Vivendi owns 94.75% of Havas's Share Capital.


Gameloft

In July 2016, Vivendi completed its takeover of
Gameloft Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games m ...
, the world's largest mobile-games publisher in terms of downloads. Gameloft reported that their games had amassed over 1 billion downloads in 2016.


Editis

Vivendi owns the French publisher
Editis Editis is a French corporate group, group of publishing companies, subsidiary of French group Vivendi. It is the second-largest Media of France, French publishing group, after Hachette Livre. History Editis was created in January 2004 by the reg ...
, which it acquired in January 2019 for €900 million. Editis is one of France's largest publishers.


Vivendi Village

Vivendi Village Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...
comprises a group of small companies active in digital and in live entertainment. Vivendi Ticketing comprises the ticketing businesses
See Tickets __NOTOC__ See Tickets is the trading name of an international ticketing services company owned by Vivendi SA. See Tickets' head office is on Upper Parliament Street in Nottingham, and operates throughout Europe and North America under the See Tick ...
in the UK, the US, and in France. Both businesses specialize in the retail and distribution of tickets for live entertainment, sport and cultural events, in addition to providing operating platforms for venues to run their own ticketing services. Vivendi Ticketing processes annually over 40 million tickets. The business also operates as an internal service provider to other Vivendi businesses. MyBestPro provides experts counseling in different fields (Wengo, RDVmedicaux, Juritravail, Bordas, Devispresto). Vivendi Village also owns the Paris-based concert venue L'Olympia and the Théâtre de l'Oeuvre. In 2015, Vivendi announced that it will open venues in central and west Africa. These venues will be named CanalOlympia, they will serve as concert halls, theaters and screening rooms.


Prisma Media

In 2021, Vivendi purchased Prisma Media from
Gruner + Jahr Gruner may refer to: People * Dov Gruner (1912–1947), Jewish Zionist leader * Eduard Gruner, Swiss engineer * Elioth Gruner (1882–1939), Australian painter * Gottlieb Sigmund Gruner (1717–1778), Swiss cartographer and geologist * Klaus ...
for an estimated 100 to 150 million euros. Prisma Media is number one magazine publishing group in France.


Dailymotion

In 2015, Vivendi purchased an 80% stake in
Dailymotion Dailymotion is a French video-sharing technology platform owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg and Hearst Digital Media. It is among the earliest known platforms to support HD (720p) resolution video. ...
from its previous owner,
Orange S.A. Orange S.A. (), formerly France Télécom S.A. (stylized as france telecom) is a French multinational telecommunications corporation. It has 266 million customers worldwide and employs 89,000 people in France, and 59,000 elsewhere. In 2015, ...
Vivendi announced that it increased this stake to 90% in September 2015.


Equity investments


See also

*
List of French companies A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control CAC 40 Companies based in Paris Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies listed on Euronext Paris Conglomerate companies of France French brands French companies established in 1853 French companies established in 1998 Holding companies established in 1853 Holding companies established in 1998 Holding companies of France Mass media companies of France Mass media companies established in 1853 Mass media companies established in 1998 Mass media in Paris Multinational companies headquartered in France Bolloré