Scram, PSAM

9 April 2015 By Quentin Webb

Vincent Bollore has made peace with U.S. activists circling the media group he chairs. A vow to return 6.75 bln euros to shareholders is handy: Vivendi had been too vague about plans for its huge cash pile. But the French tycoon’s antagonists seem to have compromised more.

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French media group Vivendi reached a deal with activist U.S. hedge fund P. Schoenfeld Asset Management (PSAM), heading off a conflict ahead of a shareholder meeting.

On April 8 Vivendi said it pledged to return 6.75 billion euros ($7.3 billion) to shareholders after talks with PSAM, above the 5.7 billion euros it had previously earmarked but below the 9 billion euros PSAM had demanded. Vivendi said it may propose more payouts if it spends less than expected on acquisitions over the next two years.

PSAM, which says it owns 0.8 percent of Vivendi, dropped two resolutions for the company’s April 17 annual shareholders’ meeting and said it would back management instead.

In an interview published by the Financial Times on April 8, Chief Executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine said Vivendi was thinking about “transformational transactions” that were “fit for purpose and which will create value for our shareholders.” He said British broadcaster ITV was a “great company” but “too expensive” and Vivendi had no interest in Sky, the European pay-TV group.

Shares in Vivendi rose on April 9, topping 24 euros for the first time since 2008. By 0800 GMT they stood 1.3 percent higher at 23.97 euros.

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