Bronfman seeks to buy Vivendi entertainment

PARIS: Edgar Bronfman, vice-chairman of Vivendi Universal has decided to try to buy back the entertainment businesses he sold to the Franco-American media firm, the Wall Street Journal Europe said on Wednesday.

Bronfman said in an interview with the newspaper that he was assembling a group of investors to make an offer for Vivendi's US entertainment businesses including Universal Studios, Universal Music and the USA and Sci Fi cable channels.

Among his backers was New York cable operator Cablevision Systems Corp, which would contribute its entertainment cable networks to a new company to be formed if Bronfman's bid succeeded, the paper added.

Bronfman declined to disclose what price his group was considering offering for the assets, though he said his family would contribute cash to the bid. Wachovia Securities had been lined up to put together debt financing for the bid, while Merrill Lynch was providing financial advice and debt financing.

Bronfman and his father, Edgar, would temporarily suspend their participation on Vivendi's board while the company pursued the sale, the paper said.

Sources close to the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that Vivendi was in talks with four or five groups about the sale of its US entertainment business, and that a deal could be signed as soon as this summer.