All posts in Vivendi
Vivendi chooses Numericable, Bouygues and Free on the sidelines for now
On Friday, the French telecom world was buzzing from a somewhat surprise decision that Vivendi would be entering into exclusive negotiations to sell-off its telco unit SFR to Numericable, effectively leaving Bouygues and, indirectly, Free out in the cold. While Numericable had reportedly been Vivendi’s preferred candidate early on, Bouygues came in later in the […]
Free may finally get its own network if a Bouygues-SFR deal goes ahead
Over the past couple weeks, Vivendi has been in concurrent negotiations with both Bouygues and Numericable about an eventual sale of SFR to one of the two telcos. It looks like whoever ends up the winner, the deal will be valued at around 10 billion euros. While both entities would be amassing substantial levels of […]
Numericable to purchase Vivendi’s SFR for €15 Billion; TelCo consolidation just getting started
Internet service provider Numericable has reportedly confirmed talks with Vivendi to purchase their ailing subsidiary SFR at a valuation of €15 Billion. The deal, which will see the new Numericable-SFR merger owned 32% by Vivendi and 50% by Altice, the parent company of Numericable, was first reported on Les Echos, though rumors of such a […]
Midemlab announces finalists to top music industry competition
Midemlab which takes place each year during top music ecosystem event Midem has an impressive track record as a launch pad for the industry’s most promising startups. With names like The Echo Nest, Songkick, Mobile Backstage and, most impressively, SoundCloud having participated in the competition, Midemlab has proven itself as great platform for startups to […]
Vivendi’s SFR spinoff & company restructure announcement fails to inspire shareholders.
In the past weeks the European Telco industry hasn’t been short of big news. After Vodafone Group Plc. agreed to sell its U.S. wireless business, and Microsoft Corp acquired Nokia’s Devices and Services division, the long-expected overhaul of Vivendi’s structure has taken a further step towards a more competitive group. Vivendi will divest in SFR […]
After selling the bulk of its stake in Activision, is SFR the next to go for Vivendi?
After selling 85% of their stake in Activision last week, Les Echos reported that Vivendi is studying the possibility of selling SFR, its largest telecoms operation. Given their debt challenges and shaky performance of late, they’re particularly looking at how to divest the French telco without disrupting their stock price or negatively affecting their (already […]
Vivendi off-loading 85% of its stake in Activision
Vivendi announced today that it would be selling 85% of its stake in Activision at a 10% discount back to the videogame giant and its management. It’s thought that the move is to help Vivendi generate the cash it needs to pay down its debts, refocus its business on other core entertainment activities, and stay […]
SFR closes its chic concept store 'Le Studio'
SFR and its partner SFD (the company managing Le Studio) have announced that they will be closing their concept store, “Le Studio”, located in Paris’ upscale 8th arrondissement. Le Studio opened is doors in 2008 and was, above all, about offering their customers an unsurpassed ‘luxury’ service experience. It was unique in the sense that […]