BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JULY 3, 2000 ISSUE
COVER STORY

Jean-Marie's Universe


How a Vivendi-Seagram merger shapes up

THE WATER WORKS
The core of Vivendi's profits: a $22 billion utility business that operates globally. Boring, but check out the cash flow. Could be partly spun off to pay for the deal.

WIRELESS WORLD
Cegetel is Vivendi's big cell-phone operator, with $4 billion in revenue. It has profits and gives Vivendi an inside track to the wireless world. But it may go on the block to bankroll the Seagram deal.

TV TYCOON
Vivendi's crown jewel is Canal+, Europe's leading pay-TV operator and a growing force in film production. The catch: Big tech investments are triggering huge losses.

CONVERGENCE PLAY
New portal with Vodafone will sell entertainment on the Euronet through cell phones and Canal+'s digital TV. Barry Diller's Home Shopping Network (partly owned by Seagram) could migrate to the portal. Sell those zircons!

TINSELTOWN
That's Universal Pictures. It has Erin Brockovich, The Jerry Springer Show, and a huge catalog of film and TV that could feed into Canal+. It's been losing money for years, but recent hits will bolster earnings.

IMPERIAL EXPANSION
Messier may still want more: a tighter alliance with Rupert Murdoch as the mogul launches a global digital-TV and Internet venture. He may even back a possible Diller bid for NBC.

DATA: Business Week, COMPANY REPORTS


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ONLINE ORIGINAL: How Vivendi Could Become USA Networks' Rich Uncle



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