Vivendi CEO Confident of Company’s Recovery

The head of Vivendi Universal said Sunday he was confident the media giant would pull through its crisis, with a $2-billion funding deal with banks set to be finalized by the end of September.

Jean-Rene Fourtou, appointed chairman and chief executive last month after Jean-Marie Messier was ousted in a boardroom coup, said in a letter to employees and shareholders that all options remained open on how the indebted company would be restructured.

However, a plan unveiled last week to sell about $10 billion in assets will not include stakes in Vivendi Environnement, Cegetel, Universal Music Group, Vivendi Universal Entertainment or Vivendi’s non-U.S. publishing activities, Fourtou said, responding to media speculation.

“I would like to reassure you ... the group’s situation is certainly strained, but I have identified the methods of getting out of this crisis and the routes to recovery,” Fourtou said.

“The road remains strewn with pitfalls but I am absolutely convinced that we will succeed,” he said in the three-page letter, which was also sent to the media.

Vivendi shares plummeted 45% to devastating new lows last week after the group unveiled a $12-billion net loss for the first half due to goodwill write-downs and provisions, triggering downgrades to its stock and credit ratings.

Jittery for months over the debt-laden company, investors took fright last week over Vivendi’s precarious cash position and the lack of a clear plan for its post-Messier future.

Fourtou, who is due to finalize his asset sale plans by a Sept. 25 board meeting, said Sunday that Vivendi’s board had agreed to conditions with banks for $2 billion in emergency funding, on top of an already-agreed-on $1 billion.

“The legal conditions and the commitments sought by the banks were accepted by the board on Aug. 13 and signed by myself. Everything should be in place by the end of September at the latest,” Fourtou said.

That loan would prevent an imminent cash crunch but would not solve all the company’s problems.

Vivendi said last week it had refinancing needs totaling $5.5 billion between now and the end of March 2003.