Paris, 23 February 2009
Vivendi is awarded damages of 1.9 billion euros in its dispute against Elektrim
On 12 February 2009, an arbitral tribunal under the auspices of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) issued its final award in the dispute between Vivendi and Elektrim, a Polish company controlled by Mr. Zygmunt Solorz. The tribunal awarded damages of 1.876 billion euros (plus accrued interest from February 2005) to Vivendi for intentional breaches by Elektrim of the investment agreement entered into in September 2001 regarding their joint venture Elektrim Telekomunikacja Sp. z o.o. (Telco) and their investment in Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa Sp. z o.o. (PTC).
This final award follows a partial award rendered on 19 March 2008 which declared that “Elektrim breached the basic premise of the (investment agreement) by systematically acting against the interests of Telco in furtherance of its own interests and by refusing to acknowledge Telco’s right to the economic benefit of the PTC shares”. All of Elektrim’s counterclaims against Vivendi have been dismissed.
Elektrim had received more than 1.8 billion euros from Vivendi to transfer the PTC shares to Telco and protect Telco’s economic interests therein. Vivendi is the largest creditor of Elektrim and this final award confirms its claim, of which recognition is requested in Elektrim’s bankruptcy.
The confirmation of Telco’s ownership rights on the PTC shares is still pending before the Polish courts.
About PTC
Vivendi is a 51% shareholder in Telco and Carcom, companies organized under and existing under the laws of Poland which own, either directly or indirectly, 51% of PTC, one of the primary mobile telephone operator in Poland.
About Vivendi
A world leader in communications and entertainment, Vivendi controls Activision Blizzard (#1 in video games worldwide), Universal Music Group (#1 in music worldwide), SFR (#2 in mobile and fixed telecom in France), Maroc Telecom (#1 in mobile and fixed telecom in Morocco), Canal+ (#1 in pay-TV in France and Poland) and owns 20% of NBCU (leading U.S. media and entertainment group). In 2007, Vivendi achieved revenues of 21.7 billion euros and adjusted net income of 2.8 billion euros. With operations in 77 countries, the Group has about 43,000 employees.
Important disclaimer:
This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, business, strategy and plans of Vivendi. Although Vivendi believes that such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control, including, but not limited to, the risks described in the documents Vivendi filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (French securities regulator) and which are also available in English on our web site ( ). Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of documents filed by Vivendi with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers at www.amf-france.org, or directly from Vivendi. The present forward-looking statements are made as of the date of the present press release and Vivendi disclaims any intention or obligation to provide, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.