簡介
維旺迪（Vivendi SA；又譯威望迪）前名為維旺迪環球（Vivendi Universal）是法國一家巨型媒體跨國集團。業務範圍包括音樂、電視、電影、出版、電信、網際網路和電子遊戲等行業。
歷史
公司在1853年12月14日由拿破崙三世的法令成立，名為通用水務公司（Compagnie Générale des Eaux）。1854年，公司獲得里昂市的公共供水特許權。在這方面經營了100年。1861年，公司獲得了為巴黎供水50年的特許權。
在一個世紀的時間裡，通用水務公司把自己的經營重點放在水務工業里。但是從1976年任命執行長Guy Dejouany之後，公司開始用收購手段擴大自己的業務範圍。1980年起，公司開始多樣化進入廢物管理、能源業、運輸業、建造業和產業。公司購買了Compagnie Générale d'Entreprises Automobiles, 一家工業汽車製造商。之後，公司又購買了Compagnie Générale de Chauffe和Montenay兩家能源公司。
1983年，該公司幫助建立了Canal+，法國的第一家收費電視台，1990年代起，特別是1996年6月27日新執行長讓-馬里·梅西埃（Jean-Marie Messier）上任之後，公司開始進入電信和媒體行業。1996年公司建立了Cegetel子公司來迎接1998年法國政府放鬆電信管制的政策。
1998年，公司改名為“Vivendi”，買了產業和建築部門。之後，維旺迪併購了摩洛哥電信、哈瓦斯通訊社、cendant Software、Anaya和一家歐洲大陸大的收費電視公司NetHold。1998年開始，維旺迪在義大利、西班牙、波蘭、斯堪的納維亞、比利時和荷蘭播放數碼頻道。
1999年6月，維旺迪與百代電影公司合併，合併交換比率為3維旺迪股換2百代股。《華爾街日報》估並後價為25.9億美元。合併後，公司保留了百代在英國天空廣播公司和CanalSat的股權。
2000年7月，維旺迪分拆自己的供水和廢物業務以及其它公共設施服務，建立維旺迪環境（Vivendi Environnement）。2003年，此分拆公司改名為威立雅環境（Veolia Environnement）.
2000年12月，維旺迪併購了Canal+電視網、環球影業和西格拉姆（Seagram）成立維旺迪環球娛樂（Vivendi Universal Entertainment）。
現在的維旺迪在2006年4月20日實現。那時維旺迪把80%的娛樂部門股權賣給通用電氣建立NBC環球，復甦了自己1990年代末和2000年代初的過度擴張。
2007年12月2日，維旺迪宣布將把維旺迪遊戲部門與Activision合併，交易價值188億美元。[1][2]合併公司命名Activision Blizzard，將於現世界最大遊戲出版商電子藝界抗衡。[2]
公司政治
維旺迪2002年年報透露公司損失233億歐元；歷史上法國公司損失最重的一次。在激烈的媒體審議下，領導近幾年公司多樣化的執行長讓·馬里·梅西埃辭職了。新上任的執行長是讓-雷內·福爾圖（Jean-René Fourtou）.
維旺迪在財富500強里排名91，2000年收入386億美元。但是其1990年代末和21世紀初的擴張來給了公司很多財務及法律麻煩。這些問題使美國和法國監管機構調查其當時活動，尋任何掩蓋的損失。[3]
英文版介紹
Vivendi SA (formerly known as Vivendi Universal) is a French media conglomerate with activities in music, television and film, publishing, telecommunications, the Internet as well as video games.
Contents
1 History
2 Money and Politics
2.1 2001
2.2 2002
2.3 2003
2.4 2004
2.5 2005
2.6 2006
2.7 2007
3 Current assets
4 References
5 See also
6 External links
[edit] History
On December 14, 1853, a water company named Compagnie Générale des Eaux (CGE) was created by an Imperial decree of Napoleon III. In 1854, CGE obtained a concession in order to supply water to the public in Lyon, serving in this capacity for over a hundred years. In 1861, it obtained a 50-year concession with the City of Paris.
For more than a century, Compagnie Générale des Eaux remained largely focused on the water sector. However, following the appointment of Guy Dejouany as CEO in 1976, CGE extended its activities into other sectors with a series of takeovers. Beginning in 1980, CGE began diversifying its operations from water into waste management, energy, transport services, and construction and property. It acquired the Compagnie Générale d'Entreprises Automobiles (CGEA), specialized in industrial vehicles, which was later divided into two branches: Connex and Onyx Environnement. CGE then acquired the Compagnie Générale de Chauffe, and later the Montenay group. The Energy Services division these companies became part of, was later (1998) renamed Dalkia.
In 1983, CGE helped to found Canal+, the first Pay-TV channel in France, and in the 1990s, they began expanding into telecommunications and mass media, especially after Jean-Marie Messier succeeded Guy Dejouany on June 27, 1996. In 1996, CGE created Cegetel to take advantage of the 1998 deregulation of the French telecommunications market, accelerating the move into the media sector which would culminate in the 2000 demerger into Vivendi Universal and Vivendi Environnement (Veolia).
In 1998, Compagnie Générale des Eaux changed its name to Vivendi, and sold off its property and construction divisions the following year. Vivendi went on to acquire stakes in or merge with Maroc Telecom, Havas, Cendant Software, Anaya, and NetHold, a large Continental European pay-TV operator. Beginning in 1998, Vivendi launched digital channels in Italy, Spain, Poland, Scandinavia, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
In June of 1999, Vivendi merged with Pathé, the exchange ratio for the merger fixed at three Vivendi shares for every two Pathé shares. The Wall Street Journal estimated the value of the deal at US.59 billion. Following the completion of the merger, Vivendi retained Pathé's interests in British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC and CanalSatellite, a French broadcasting corporation then sold all remaining assets to Jérôme Seydoux's family-owned holding company, Fornier SA who changed its name to Pathé.
In July 2000, Vivendi spun off its water and waste companies - once its core business - along with interests in other public service sectors such as transport into Vivendi Environnement (IPO in Paris in July 2000 and in New York in October 2001), later (2003) renamed Veolia Environnement.
Vivendi Universal Entertainment was created in December of 2000 with the merger of the Vivendi media empire with Canal+ television networks and the acquisition of Universal Studios from Canadian company Seagram.
Vivendi in its current form came into existence on April 20, 2006 following the sale of an 80% stake in the Vivendi Universal Entertainment unit to form NBC Universal and the gradual recovery of the company from its disastrous over-expansion in the late 1990s and the early 2000s.
On December 2, 2007, Vivendi announced that it would be merging its "video games unit" with Activision in a .8 billion deal.[1][2] This will allow the merged company, Activision Blizzard, to rival Electronic Arts, the world's biggest video games publisher.[2]
[edit] Money and Politics
Vivendi disclosed a corporate loss of �3.3 billion in its 2002 annual report; the worst loss to date for a French company. Amid intense media scrutiny, its chairman and CEO, Jean-Marie Messier (who had overseen the most dramatic phase of the company's diversification), was subsequently replaced by Jean-René Fourtou.
Vivendi is a Fortune 500 company ranked #91, with a total revenue in the year 2000 of 38.6 billion USD. [1] However, its massive expansion in the late 90s and early 21st century has caused the company both financial and legal trouble. The problems arose during the term of former CEO, Jean-Marie Messier; both US and French regulators are investigating potential cover-ups of company losses [2]. Vivendi is also an example of privatization of a public service, the distribution of water and wastewater.
[edit] 2001
Vivendi Universal (VU) acquired MP3.com and a leading American publisher, Houghton Mifflin.
[edit] 2002
VU began facing financial trouble. It responded with financial reshuffling, trying to shore up media holdings while selling off shares in its spin-off companies.
Reduced its stake in Vivendi Environnement to 40% and sold its stake in Vinci Construction.
The flamboyant company's Chairman and CEO, Jean-Marie Messier (who had overseen the most dramatic phase of Vivendi's diversification) resigned. He was replaced by Jean-Rene Fourtou. The company then began reorganizing to stave off bankruptcy. The company announced its strategy to sell non-strategic assets. Its largest single shareholder was the family of Edgar Bronfman, Jr., who was head of Seagram at the time of the merger.
Sold its stake in Vizzavi to Vodafone, with the exception of Vizzavi France. It also sold 20.4% of Vivendi Environnement's capital to a group of investors, and its stake in North American satellite operator EchoStar Communications Corporation.
VU sells Houghton Mifflin to Thomas H Lee, Blackstone and Bain consortium for US.66bn. [3]
[edit] 2003
Sold Canal+ Technologies to Thomson (formerly Thomson Multimédia); Tele+ to News Corporation and Telecom Italia. It also sold its 26.3% interest in Xfera.
On March 6, Vivendi disclosed its annual report (term ended at December 31,2002), that is downloadable in pdf format on its site. Some highlights include:
Corporate loss of �3.3 billion: the worst loss for a French company.
Net debt of �2.3 billion
Vivendi will sell assets for 7 billons euros in 2003
On December 1, 2003, Vivendi closed a deal to sell MP3.com to CNET.
Defying predictions that it would be unable to raise the cash needed, VU bought out one of the two minority shareholders in Cegetel, taking its holding to 60 percent, with Vodafone holding the remaining 40 percent. Management viewed the mobile communications firm as a core asset once the bulk of media assets had been sold off.
[edit] 2004
80 percent of the Vivendi Universal Entertainment branch was sold to GE, forming NBC Universal, with VU retaining a 20 percent stake.
Sold its interests in Kencell (re-branded Celtel, Kenya), Monaco Telecom and Sportfive (which it held through Canal+ Group).
Sold Newsworld International to the business partnership of Joel Hyatt and former Vice-President of the United States Al Gore
VU and Valve Software (makers of Half-Life) went head to head over the distribution of Half-Life 2 ~to cyber cafes, they later came to an agreement stating:
The authority of distributing cyber cafe licenses were to be handed over to Valve from VUG (and Sierra), and licenses granted by VUG and Sierra to cyber cafés prior to the agreement were revoked.
VUG would cease distributing all retail packaged versions of Valve games by August 31, 2005.
VU bought the rights to the game redneck Rampage after Interplay's corporate shutdown.
[edit] 2005
December 16: it was announced that Canal Plus would merge with TPS, France's second largest Pay-TV provider. If the � billion (US.9bn; £3.4bn) tie-up is approved, VU will own 85% of the combined entity.
[edit] 2006
January 17: Vivendi SA announced that it will end its American Depositary Receipt program and its listing on the New York Stock Exchange by the end of quarter 2 2006, due to lowered trading volume on its shares and high costs. [4]
April 20: Vivendi announced that shareholders approved a name change. It dropped the "Universal" from its name and will now be known simply as "Vivendi". A new corporate logo was simultaneously unveiled.
August: Vivendi signed a deal with Spiralfrog to distribute Vivendi's songs online in the United States and Canada.
September 8: Vivendi announced that Sierra Entertainment, a division of its Vivendi Games group would be publishing the new game for Double Fine Productions, later revealed to be Brütal Legend.
September: Vivendi has announced to buy BMG Music Publishing, the daughter company of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann for �.63 billion (US.1bn).
[edit] 2007
December 2: Vivendi announced that their subdivision Vivendi Games would be merging Activision to form Activision Blizzard. Vivendi will be the major shareholder in this merger holding a 52% to 68% (pending results of the tender offer) stake of the newly formed company.[3][4]
[edit] Current assets
Main article: List of assets owned by Vivendi
[edit] References
^ Video game giants in bn merger - BBC
^ a b Guitar Hero meets Warcraft in Vivendi-Activision deal - Reuters
^ 1up story on the Vivendi-Activision merger
^ Blizzard FAQ on Activision Blizzard
