January 29, 2010
Vivendi Will Appeal to Overturn Jury Verdict
Vivendi announced today that it disagrees with the decision returned on January 29, 2010 by a jury in the U.S. securities class action trial before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The jury found that several public statements made by Vivendi between October 30, 2000 and August 14, 2002 violated the U.S. securities laws.
Vivendi strongly disagrees with the findings against the company, which the company believes are contrary to the facts and the law, in particular with respect to an alleged hidden liquidity risk.
The amount of damages that Vivendi may be required to pay as a result of this verdict remains uncertain and will be known at a later and as yet undetermined stage. The verdict calculates the damages on a per-share and per-day basis and it is impossible to know at this time the total number of shares traded by class members, the dates of the relevant sales and the number of class members who will submit a valid claim after receiving notice of the decision.
Vivendi intends to pursue all available paths of action to overturn the verdict.
Vivendi believes that there are many grounds for appeal, including, but not limited to the Court’s decision to include French shareholders in the class, its rulings on jurisdiction and the plaintiffs’ erroneous method of proving and calculating damages, as well as the numerous incorrect rulings made during the course of the trial. Furthermore, Vivendi believed, and continues to believe strongly, that it did nothing wrong and that this case raises significant legal issues for foreign corporations doing business in the United States that need to be definitively resolved.
Vivendi remains confident concerning the ultimate confirmation of the legal integrity of its actions and its public statements.
About Vivendi
A world leader in communications and entertainment, Vivendi controls Activision Blizzard (#1 in video games worldwide), Universal Music Group (#1 in music worldwide), SFR (#2 in mobile and fixed telecom in France), Maroc Telecom Group (#1 in mobile and fixed telecom in Morocco), Canal+ Group (#1 in pay-TV in France), GVT (#1 alternative operator in fixed telecom and internet in Brazil) and owns 20% of NBCU (leading U.S. media and entertainment group). In 2008, Vivendi achieved revenues of €25.4 billion and adjusted net income of €2.7 billion. With operations in 77 countries, the Group has about 49,000 employees.
Important disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to the strategy and plans of Vivendi regarding the above-mentioned litigation, and the anticipated impact of the litigation on Vivendi’s financial condition. Although Vivendi believes that such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future results in this litigation. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control, including, but not limited to, the risk that Vivendi will not prevail with respect to any of the arguments upon which it bases its appeals in this litigation and the risks described in the documents Vivendi filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (French securities regulator) and which are also available in English on our web site (). Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of documents filed by Vivendi with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers at www.amf-france.org, or directly from Vivendi. The present forward-looking statements are made as of the date of the present press release and Vivendi disclaims any intention or obligation to provide, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
