Vivendi at Lower Risk of a Cash Crunch

Vivendi Universal faces reduced risk of running short of cash if its credit ratings are cut after renegotiating loans and repaying a $2.3-billion obligation, Standard & Poor’s Corp. said.

The world’s second-largest media company said it has unused credit lines of $3.3 billion available after paying its dividend and buying the entertainment business of USA Networks Inc.

S&P; said the withdrawal of Vivendi from the firm’s trigger list won’t lift the company’s ratings. In other news, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. confirmed it was discussing the possibility of buying Vivendi Universal out of its Italian pay TV business.

Vivendi shares fell $1.75 to $29.82 on the NYSE.