Vivendi exits telecommunications in €3.9bn deal

Vivendi has said it will accept an offer from Franco-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi to buy its remaining 20 percent stake in French telecoms operator Numericable-SFR for €3.9bn -- in effect marking its exit from the telecoms business.

The decision represents the completion of Vivendi’s strategic vision to become a pure media and entertainment group. During this transformation from conglomerate to focused media group, Vivendi has sold more than €20bn in assets in the space of about 18 months -- helping the group to pay down its once-sizeable debt and amass a substantial cash pile.