VIV Vivendi SE

   By Patrick Costello 
 

BARCELONA--Vivendi SA's (VIV.FR) chief executive defended the French media company's decision to seek a buyer for a stake in its Universal Music Group subsidiary, saying the time was right to consider divesting part of UMG.

"The momentum has been created," Arnaud de Puyfontaine said Friday at Morgan Stanley's telecom-and-media conference in Barcelona. He said UMG and the music industry have undergone a recovery over the past few years.

Still, Vivendi is in no rush to sell and is focused instead on finding a partner to help "crystallize" UMG's value, he said.

"We will have a floor price below which we won't proceed with such a proposition," Mr. de Puyfontaine said, adding that a potential buyer's geographical-and-technological approach also merits consideration.

Mr. de Puyfontaine said Vivendi would remain a shareholder in Telecom Italia SpA (TIT.MI) following the ouster of Amos Genish as chief executive this week and news of a hefty writedown at the company, but he called the situation at Telecom Italia worrying.

"Telecom Italia has great potential and Italy is a part of the Vivendi strategy," he said.

Vivendi, Telecom Italia's largest shareholder, has been locked in a struggle for influence at the company with activist investor Elliott Management Corp. since earlier this year.

Read more about the imbroglio surrounding Telecom Italia at https://on.wsj.com/2JndT7q (WSJ paywall) or https://bit.ly/2DsU4e6 (NewsPlus).

Write to Patrick Costello at patrick.costello@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 16, 2018 09:06 ET (14:06 GMT)

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