Six new members joined the Vivendi Shareholders’ Committee and participated for the first time in its work, alongside renewed members. The new committee consists of ten members, including five women.
News and strategy review of Vivendi
The meeting began with a presentation by Solange Maulini, individual shareholders and press Director at Vivendi, who detailed the Group’s news and the developments undertaken to transform Vivendi from a financial holding company into an integrated industrial group.
Vivendi has several strengths as a leading media and content company. Its focus is on organic growth, based on the creation of unique content valued by a multiplicity of strategic relationships combined with digital platforms, an expertise in talent management, an acceleration of the international development and a good knowledge of clients. Solange Maulini also explained Vivendi’s third quarter 2014 results and the evolution of its debt in the last month.
The Committee seized the opportunity to ask questions about the new Vivendi Management, the future dividend policy after the sale of SFR, the previously announced distributions, the evolution of the holding company discount, the Canal + strategy in Africa and the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of Vivendi.
Meeting with Arnaud de Puyfontaine, President of the Vivendi Management Board
After talking about his career and his experience in the media world, in international markets and in the digital sector, Arnaud de Puyfontaine explained the new Group’s strategy and underlined the dynamism and the strengths of the new Vivendi.
Responding to questions from the Committee, he confirmed that the Group does not intend to purchase beyond what is reasonable, adding that its management was known for its seriousness and financial discipline. He also said that the return of shareholders after the sale of SFR (press release of April 24, 2014), had not yet been specified.
Workshop on the Group’s website
Thu Trinh-Bouvier, Director of New Media at Vivendi, presented the Group’s website to the Committee. The homepage has evolved to represent more adequately the image/vision of the new Vivendi, to celebrate the “30 years of Canal+”and the release of new music albums.
Thu Trinh-Bouvier emphasized particularly on the individual shareholders category, consisting of nine sections, and highlighted the originality of the establishment of an audio news program. A benchmark of others individual shareholders websites sections was also conducted.
The Committee then spoke about the digital development projects on which the Group is focusing on: private digital space, smartphone application….
Workshop on slides presented at shareholder meetings
The Committee consulted the slides of Vivendi and other groups that they represent at shareholders’ meetings in the Provinces. It gave its preferences in terms of sections, form and substance.
Lunch with Simon Gillham, Senior Executive Vice President, Communications & New Business of Vivendi
In a friendly atmosphere, the Committee then conversed with Simon Gillham about the reorientation and the new strategy of the Group, the outlook of its various activities and its communication policy vis à-vis the individual shareholders.