Vivendi auch bald platt??? - Liquiditätskrise - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[optiman]

Laut Handelsblatt stecken die Franzosen in der Liquiditätsklemme... Bin mal gesapnnt, wie die da wieder raus kommen wollen, werden sich dann wohl von einigen Bereichen trennen dürfen!?

[Pik7]

Ein Analyst von J.P.Morgan schätzt bei sofortiger Liquidierung den Wert der Aktie auf 16€. Ein Blick in die
Bilanz zeigt, dass diese Schätzung eher auf der vorsichtigen
Seite ist...man bekommt halt einen miesen Preis, wenn jeder
weiss, dass man verkaufen muss!
Die Banken, die große Anteile an VVU halten, werden sich sehr genau überlegen, ob sie unter diesen Umständen das
Unternehmen kaputt gehen lassen.

[YabbaDabbaDoo]

Vivendi board opts for low-key CEO

Fourtou to add `element of stability,` analysts say

By Emily Church, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 12:39 PM ET Jul 4, 2002

LONDON (CBS.MW) -- In pulling French businessman Jean-Rene Fourtou out of semi-retirement, Vivendi Universal`s board could not have sent a clearer message to the market that the flashy Jean-Marie Messier era was over.

Fourtou, 63, vice chairman at sedate drug company Aventis (AVE), was tapped to replace Messier as chairman and chief executive at a special board meeting on Wednesday. The low-key Frenchman wasted little time in trying to soothe investor concerns over the media group`s cash position.

"I have every confidence that the company has the strength to address its liquidity issues and am convinced we can find the appropriate solutions in the immediate term," Fourtou said.

It probably wasn`t by accident that Fourtou chose to use the word "we" in his statement, for that is exactly what shareholders are getting in Fourtou, reportedly the choice of French President Jacques Chirac and powerful businessman Claude Bebear, chairman of insurance giant Axa (AXA) (012062).

In a country where the political and business establishments are intertwined from school to the grave, Fourtou has been a long-time player.

Vivendi`s saga looks to have sucked in a critical mass of French business leaders as well as politicians who are worried about foreign control of the company`s French-based businesses such as Canal-Plus TV and its utility Vivendi Environnement.

Fourtou emerged from the dense fog of recent weeks as their man to tackle the problems at the company. Vivendi (V) used to be the largest company on the Paris exchange, but now ranks 16th; its shares (012777) have dropped 75 percent in the past year.

Vivendi "has gone part of the way to relieving concerns in that the focus will be on resolving the liquidity position in the short-term," said Mark Harrington, analyst at J.P. Morgan Securities in London. "But having said that, visibility still remains unclear with respect to where we`ll see Vivendi placed in 6 to 12 months."

For investors, the arrival of Fourtou likely eases negotiations with French lenders and possibly means helpful legislative changes are on the way. But in the longer-term, some analysts fret that the choice of Fourtou means a fast breakup of Vivendi`s portfolio isn`t going to happen, which could keep the stock`s price at a discount.

It is also certain to mean a "French solution" to the problems left behind by Messier, a Frenchman who moved to New York but struggled to bring the company into a harmonious trans-Atlantic mindset. Now Chirac and his Gaullist pals are determined to keep one of France`s few corporate heavyweights with global reach from falling into American hands.

The three amis

On Wednesday, Vivendi`s board moved decisively to form a team of three key people to navigate the company through the next few months, with Fourtou at the helm. Bebear was named to the board, and was also appointed to chair a new financial committee. Director Henri Lachman, CEO of Schneider Electric (006945), was tapped to head a strategy committee.

The three men are about as well-connected in the French political and business establishment as it gets. And, according to a report in the Financial Times, the three are old friends.

They are also not Americans.

They assigned themselves a two-week deadline to tackle Vivendi`s liquidity problems. Over the next three months, they`ll work on a strategic review that investors have been clamoring for.

Vivendi has said it plans to cut its debt of 18 billion euros by 3 billion euros this year, largely by selling off non-core assets. Yet speculation had been growing that Vivendi may break up all together. The strategic review will set the tone, analysts said. See related story.

But some investors are likely to remain concerned about the prospects for a turnaround until some dramatic plans emerge.

"The election of Henri Lachmann as chairman of the strategic committee confirms our fears about a French solution," Credit Suisse First Boston said in a report on Thursday. "Vivendi Universal is likely to remain a conglomerate, hence the confirmation of the 15 percent holding discount."

Consultant joins the board

Fourtou, a former consultant, was appointed to turnaround the then struggling, state-owned Rhone-Poulenc chemicals firm by Chirac in 1986. He oversaw the complicated privatization of the company and its eventual merger with German firm Hoechst to form Aventis. Once the deal was complete, Fourtou ceded top control. His tenure was widely viewed as success.

In recent weeks, Bebear turned to Fourtou to take control at Vivendi, according to several media reports. In retrospect, Messier`s doom at Vivendi was sealed in June after Bebear, in rare public comments, called for his removal.

The push from Bebear apparently succeeded where U.S. board members allied to the North American Bronfman family failed at a board meeting in May. The Bronfmans control 5.2 percent of Vivendi shares after selling major U.S. film and record assets in 2000 as they broke up Seagram Co. The family has lost billions as Vivendi shares plummet.

Media analysts in Europe largely welcomed the board`s moves on Wednesday on Thursday, although concerns about the company`s liquidity and accounting continue to linger.

The board`s "announcements are encouraging, with the appointment of Fourtou likely to add a new element of stability," Merrill Lynch in London told clients.

Analysts at French broker CIC Securities showed less reserve: "Rather than a massive fire sale of U.S. assets, to the great delight of U.S. investors Bronfman, Diller et al, we anticipate a organized, more composed program of disposals."

U.S. media mogul Barry Diller was hired by Messier to head all of Vivendi Universal`s U.S. entertainment interests. Speculation abounds that the Bronfmans, or indeed Diller, may be buyers of the U.S. media businesses if Vivendi breaks up. See full story on Bronfmans and Vivendi

Relief rally

To Fourtou, 18 percent surge in Vivendi`s Paris-listed shares in opening trading on Thursday to mark his first day must have been a tremendous relief. Shares eased from those heights, and closed 5.5 per cent higher at €14.67.

Two debt downgrades from credit agencies Moody`s and S&P this week have heightened concerns that Vivendi is heading into a near-term cash crunch - a legacy from Messier`s four-year acquisition spree that turned the utility company into the No. 2 media group in the world.

Vivendi also released details of its short-term obligations and cash availability that made clear Vivendi has the cash and unused credit lines needed to cover the repayments for now. See story on cash/obligations position in the near-term for Vivendi

"We hope that the creation of a renewed board with the arrival of Claude Bebear on board means that the worst is over," French broker Exane said Thursday.

[Schürger]

Es ist für mich unfassbar, wie so große Kapitalgeber wie
die Axa dem Treiben dieses größenwahnsinnigen Messier so
lange tatenlos zusehen konnten.

Ein Versicherungskonzern, der seinen Versicherten verpflichtet ist, steckt das sauer verdiente Geld seiner
Versicherungsnehmer in einen Konzern, der von einem Theoretiker, der ja so gut an der Eliteuniversität abgeschlossen hat, in den Sand gesetzt wurde.

Was solche Universitätsabschlüsse wert sind, sollte jedem
aufgehen, wenn Verantwortungsbewusstsein fehlt, wenn nur
noch das eigene Ego wichtig ist, ohne Rücksicht auf die
Arbeitnehmer, ohne Rücksicht auf die Interessen der Firma.

"Ich habe zu viel, zu schnell gewollt" soll heißen, ich war
größenwhnsinnig, ich wollte alle platt machen und bin selbst plattgemacht worden.

Was für eine Funktion hat eigentlich ein Aufsichtsrat, der
so einen Bockmist bis zum bitteren Ende begleitet?
Was sind das für Banker, die eine solche Hype finanzieren,
mit dem Geld ihrer Kunden. Ohne eigenes Risiko, ohne
eigene Haftung, wenn es den Bach runtergeht.

Und solche Wirtschaftsführer reden unseren Politikern,
in erster Linie "Fachleute", kein Wunder, lauter Juristen,
Lehrer und Beamte, die nie eine Firma geführt haben, die keine Ahnung von Wirtschaft haben und sich auf solche Einsager vom Schlage eines Schrempp, Sommer Ronnie, Messier usw. verlassen.

Der kleine Handwerker, der schön brav seine Steuern zahlt,
muss sich von solchen Leuten verhöhnen lassen.

Von Leuten, die Hunderte von Milliarden verbraten und am Schluss mit einer dicken Abfindung in die Wüste geschickt werden.

Man muss sich nur den Shwachsinn der Immobilienblase im
Osten unserer Republik vor Augen führen, wo unsere großen
Macher Milliarden versenkt haben, Steuergelder verpulvert haben und ihre Hände in Unschuld waschen.

Von Marktanalyse, verantwortungsvoller Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse
und Risikomanagement haben die anscheinend noch nichts gehört.

Und solche Leute führen unser Land.