Vivendi CEO Plans Meetings in U.S.

Vivendi Universal Chief Executive Jean-Rene Fourtou will meet senior U.S. executives in New York and Burbank next month in advance of a pivotal board meeting that could determine the fate of Universal’s movie studio, theme parks and music group.

Fourtou is scheduled to meet with Doug Morris, head of Universal Music Group, Vivendi Universal Entertainment Chairman Barry Diller and top executives from Universal Studios on Sept. 12 and Sept. 13, said sources familiar with the matter.

The meetings will mark Fourtou’s first visit to the U.S. and his second meeting with Universal executives since taking over as chief of Vivendi Universal in a boardroom coup last month.

The high-level meetings come as Vivendi’s U.S. executives are said to be organizing a plan to sell or spin off Vivendi’s U.S. entertainment assets into a separate company that would still be managed by Diller. Several parties have expressed interest, including cable mogul John Malone, Viacom Inc. and General Electric Co.’s NBC.

A Vivendi Universal spokeswoman declined to discuss details of Fourtou’s visit.

Fourtou appears to be laying the groundwork for a Sept. 25 meeting at which the company’s directors are expected to outline a new strategy for the struggling French conglomerate, which has been trying to stave off a cash crisis through a series of asset sales.

Vivendi, which recently announced plans to sell Boston-based publisher Houghton Mifflin, is expected to announce as early as today that it plans to sell various companies in its French consumer press division. Also expected are the sale of Vivendi’s 50% stake in Vizzavi, a money-losing Internet portal, to partner Vodafone Group for about $150 million and the sale of Vivendi’s Hungarian phone business.

Vizzavi was the centerpiece of former CEO Jean-Marie Messier’s failed strategy to pipe Universal movies, music and games through PCs, mobile phones and hand-held devices.

The sales are part of an effort to raise $9.8 billion over the next two years to lower the company’s $19-billion media-related debt. Fourtou has been working to negotiate a critical $1.97-billion loan from creditors. But that process has proved more time-consuming than anticipated because of the complexity of Vivendi’s businesses and clauses that require Vivendi to renegotiate existing loans before it can obtain new financing, said sources familiar with the matter.

Separately, France’s stock market regulator disclosed Thursday that the Bronfman family of Canada reduced its stake in Vivendi from 5.6% of the voting rights to 4.9% in May.

The Bronfmans, who were livid at the steep drop in Vivendi’s stock price this year and the company’s muddled strategy, led the boardroom ouster of Messier. They remain the company’s largest shareholders.