By Ruth Bender
PARIS-- Vivendi SA chairman and its largest shareholder, Vincent
Bolloré, scored himself double voting rights at a shareholder
meeting Friday, allowing the French billionaire more power over
deciding the company's future.
Vivendi shareholders at the group's annual meeting backed a
French law that gives shareholders double voting rights for stock
held for two years or more, a move designed to encourage long-term
investment.
A group of minority shareholders representing roughly 2% of the
company's capital had added a resolution to the meeting agenda a
few weeks ago, proposing to maintain a one-share, one-vote
principle. The new French law, dubbed Florange, can only be
overruled if such a resolution is accepted.
With the backing of shareholders, Mr. Bolloré will have greater
leeway in steering the future of Vivendi as he will hold a
significantly larger share of voting rights than the capital stake
he owns.
The French investor, who entered Vivendi's capital in 2012 and
took over as chairman in June last year, has over the past six
weeks nearly tripled his stake in the group to 14.5%.
Ahead of the vote, Mr. Bolloré called on shareholders to vote
against the resolution, arguing that the voting change will allow
Vivendi to be more agile in pursuing its development.
Mr. Bolloré, presiding over his first annual meeting as
chairman, also called on investors to be patient as the French
media group works toward building a new global content company.
"To build Vivendi, we need time and money," Mr. Bolloré
said.
The shareholder meeting comes after a tumultuous month for
Vivendi following criticism from a U.S. hedge fund that pushed the
company to agree to raise the amount of money it will return to
shareholders.
Investors continue to wonder where the owner of Universal Music
and French pay TV Canal Plus is heading and how he will use the
large cash pile the company has accumulated from selling off many
assets over the past years.
Write to Ruth Bender at Ruth.Bender@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for Vivendi SA
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=FR0000127771
Access Investor Kit for Vivendi SA
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US92852T2015
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires