French conglomerate Vivendi has prevented a bailiff from entering its offices to access certain documents related to the sale of its mobile operator SFR.
The company said this attempt followed a request from Colette Neuville who heads Adam, an…
French conglomerate Vivendi has prevented a bailiff from entering its offices to access certain documents related to the sale of its mobile operator SFR.
The company said this attempt followed a request from Colette Neuville who heads Adam, an association defending the rights of minority shareholders. It reportedly represents around 1% of Vivendi’s shareholders.
Vivendi added: “After considering the extravagant nature of this procedure, Vivendi’s lawyers have decided to oppose this intrusion and will apply to a judge for a summary judgment.”
Neuville, which has been involved in several corporate battles, is seeking more details about offers from telecoms holding Altice and industrial and media group Bouygues for SFR. On 20 March, she sent a letter to Vivendi chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou, asking for more transparency on the bids.
Vivendi is in exclusive talks with Altice until tomorrow over the possible merger of their respective units – SFR and cableco Numericable.
Bouygues is however determined to win the SFR battle and has been improved its offer to merge Bouygues Telecom and SFR a few times.
Last week, French market regulator AMF also urged Vivendi, Bouygues, Altice and Numericable – all listed companies – to provide more details about the takeover bids.
