RUMOR MILL
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
SECOND ROUND OF BIDS
COMES INTO VUE
What’s $14 billion Between Friends?
The second round of bids for Vivendi Universal’s entertainment assets were due yesterday, with Liberty, Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s group, NBC and Viacom all reportedly still in the hunt to varying degrees.
No word on if any of the bidders hit the $14 billion price tag.
The next step is for Vivendi Universal and its investment bankers to evaluate the proposals and discuss them at an Aug. 25 board meeting. The process is likely to be finished by early Sept. or as soon as the end of the month.
Both Liberty and the Bronfman group’s offers were for Universal's movie studio, theme parks and TV businesses, while the NBC proposal is for a joint-venture and a merger of assets. Viacom is reportedly only interested in VUE’s cable networks, USA and Sci Fi.
