French media and telecoms conglomerate Vivendi has accepted a proposal from the Paris Commercial Court to name a mediator in order to solve its dispute with Lagardere over their satellite pay-TV venture Canal+ France.
The news was confirmed by a company…
French media and telecoms conglomerate Vivendi has accepted a proposal from the Paris Commercial Court to name a mediator in order to solve its dispute with Lagardere over their satellite pay-TV venture Canal+ France.
The news was confirmed by a company spokesperson, who declined to comment further on the situation.
In February this year, media group Lagardere took Vivendi to court demanding that the conglomerate return €1.6bn (US$2.08bn) in cash to Canal+ France, which is 80%-owned by Vivendi and the rest by Lagardere.
The claim states that the surplus cash generated by Canal+ France was placed with its parent company Groupe Canal+, which is 100%-controlled by Vivendi.
Commenting on the lawsuit at the time, the conglomerate said: “Lagardere claims that the cash management agreement concluded between Canal+ France and its parent company Canal+ Group, a 100% subsidiary of Vivendi, is null and void because it is a related party agreement that was not previously approved by the Supervisory Board.
“Lagardere therefore demands restitution, under penalty, from Canal+ Group, of the entire cash surplus that Canal+ France has given over under the agreement – an amount of €1,603,872,43,” Vivendi added.
The company stressed in February that it was denying the allegations made by Lagardere as to the cash agreement, “which is an ordinary course agreement under normal conditions, and which does not require prior approval from the Supervisory Board of Canal+ France.”
Vivendi concluded saying that it “considers that this is an attempt by the Lagardere Group to destabilise Vivendi and force it to buy back the former’s stake in Canal+ France.”
