Reports indicate that Vivendi has targeted French mobile subsidiary SFR, as a way to reduce debt load, but a company spokesman said “speculation would be very premature”.
Sources close to the company told Reuters, however, that the “future of SFR were on standby mode”.
Vivendi has been heavily subject to press speculation in recent months, and Capacity reported at the start of the year on its potential tie up with Iliad being vetoed by French regulators. The company has also been unsuccessful in divesting Brazilian telecom unit GVT and Activision Blizzard.
Vivendi’s shares closed 4.4% at €16.22 following the report and an alternative restructuring strategy could still be sought by the mass media company.
