Check this out from CBS Marketwatch:
Vivendi shares continue their free fall
By Russ Britt, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 4:05 PM ET May 2, 2002
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Shares of Vivendi Universal continued falling, taking a near 5 percent plunge Thursday as word spread that the company might be on the hook for $250 million to musician Herb Alpert.
Vivendi (V: news, chart, profile) lost $1.59 to $30.67, continuing a trend in which the company's stock has dropped by almost half since Jan. 3, when it reached its high for the year. Vivendi shares closed at $57.85 that day.
Vivendi may owe Alpert up to $250 million under an agreement the famed trumpeter signed when he sold his Rondor Music to Seagram for stock in August 2000. Vivendi bought Seagram later that year and the agreement with Rondor came as part of the deal.
The pact calls for a payment to Alpert if the company's stock falls below $37.50 for 10 straight trading days. The stock has been below that level since April 3.
Vivendi officials said the company would have to make up for the difference between the price set under the pact with Alpert and what the shares sold for. Vivendi would have to make up that difference next year.
Company officials said the issue has been in the public eye for some time, pointing out it's one of the most frequently asked questions on its web site.
In another development, Vivendi also has a commitment to repurchasing nearly 20 million of its own shares at twice the price they are now. The expected outlay also could be frightening investors.
Earlier this week, Vivendi reported a net loss of $17 billion due to accounting changes the company is enacting to coincide with U.S. practices. Excluding the changes, the company would have made $51 million.
And last week, Vivendi had a contentious annual meeting as Chairman Jean-Marie Messier was booed over the firing of Pierre Lescure, the popular chief of Vivendi's Canal Plus pay TV unit in Paris. That meeting was further roiled by irregularities the company reported in shareholder votes, prompting Vivendi to call for a new meeting.
Late Thursday, Vivendi said a French court ruled that the shareholder vote was irregular, thus paving the way for a new meeting. No date has been set, company officials said.
The court also ruled that several votes affirming company resolutions were allowed to stand. Among those was a vote approving a dividend to shareholders. That dividend now will be paid May 13.
Vivendi shares continue their free fall
By Russ Britt, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 4:05 PM ET May 2, 2002
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Shares of Vivendi Universal continued falling, taking a near 5 percent plunge Thursday as word spread that the company might be on the hook for $250 million to musician Herb Alpert.
Vivendi (V: news, chart, profile) lost $1.59 to $30.67, continuing a trend in which the company's stock has dropped by almost half since Jan. 3, when it reached its high for the year. Vivendi shares closed at $57.85 that day.
Vivendi may owe Alpert up to $250 million under an agreement the famed trumpeter signed when he sold his Rondor Music to Seagram for stock in August 2000. Vivendi bought Seagram later that year and the agreement with Rondor came as part of the deal.
The pact calls for a payment to Alpert if the company's stock falls below $37.50 for 10 straight trading days. The stock has been below that level since April 3.
Vivendi officials said the company would have to make up for the difference between the price set under the pact with Alpert and what the shares sold for. Vivendi would have to make up that difference next year.
Company officials said the issue has been in the public eye for some time, pointing out it's one of the most frequently asked questions on its web site.
In another development, Vivendi also has a commitment to repurchasing nearly 20 million of its own shares at twice the price they are now. The expected outlay also could be frightening investors.
Earlier this week, Vivendi reported a net loss of $17 billion due to accounting changes the company is enacting to coincide with U.S. practices. Excluding the changes, the company would have made $51 million.
And last week, Vivendi had a contentious annual meeting as Chairman Jean-Marie Messier was booed over the firing of Pierre Lescure, the popular chief of Vivendi's Canal Plus pay TV unit in Paris. That meeting was further roiled by irregularities the company reported in shareholder votes, prompting Vivendi to call for a new meeting.
Late Thursday, Vivendi said a French court ruled that the shareholder vote was irregular, thus paving the way for a new meeting. No date has been set, company officials said.
The court also ruled that several votes affirming company resolutions were allowed to stand. Among those was a vote approving a dividend to shareholders. That dividend now will be paid May 13.