PSAM Questions Motivation Behind Bollore Group's Latest Vivendi Stock Purchase

NEW YORK, April 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bolloré Group today announced it had acquired additional Vivendi shares.  This purchase increases its position to 12.01%, an increase of more than 130% in less than 2 months with additional purchases possible in the future.

These additional stock purchases are clear confirmation Mr. Bolloré has no strategic plan for Vivendi's development other than to increase his personal control over the company.  All shareholders should look upon what appears to be creeping control without a control premium with concern.

PSAM also wishes to remind shareholders about Vivendi's decision to lower the maximum price at which it was authorized to buy back shares in the market from €24 to €20. Only 1 business day following the February 27, 2015 Supervisory Board decision, Mr. Bolloré began purchasing Vivendi shares.  Since then, the Bolloré Group has purchased more than 90 million Vivendi shares.  All of these purchases were made at prices between €24 and €20, resulting in exceptional profits for Mr. Bolloré. Vivendi remained on the sidelines, prevented from purchasing shares because of the reduction in the maximum buyback price, a reduction supported by Vivendi's Supervisory Board of which Mr. Bolloré is Chairman.

In addition, Bolloré Group also proclaimed in its filing today that it did not exclude proposing additional nominees to the Board, potentially leaving Vivendi with fewer truly independent directors on a Board already effectively controlled by Mr. Bolloré.

Without a precise plan regarding the use of the company's €18 billion in cash and marketable securities and with less than transparent corporate governance, we reiterate our call for a prudent and equitable return of proceeds from divestitures (€6.66 per share) to all shareholders as recommended in our two shareholder resolutions.  PSAM urges all shareholders to support these two resolutions and send a clear message to Vivendi that with no strategic plan, the company should allow shareholders to decide on the best use of their capital.

PSAM also urges Vivendi to promptly respond to questions it sent to the Board on March 29 so that shareholders will have the benefit of that information as they consider the PSAM Resolutions.

Peter Schoenfeld declared: "For those who suggest we give Mr. Bolloré more time, I must ask time for what?  To further increase Bolloré Group's stake in Vivendi, which when combined with the potential for double voting rights, will convey de facto control without paying a premium to the majority of the company's true owners, its shareholders?  Poor governance and lack of transparency must not be rewarded with patience, the stakes are too high to hope a coherent strategy emerges."

All documents are available on www.valuecreationatviv.com

About PSAM
PSAM has been providing investment advisory services since 1997, with offices in New York and London.  PSAM has approximately $3.4 billion in assets under management and invests in both equity and credit securities in global event driven opportunities. 

Additional Information
This press release is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, an offer to sell, a solicitation of any offer to buy, an offer to purchase or a solicitation of consents with regard to any securities of Vivendi (the "Company", and such securities, the "Securities").

This release may contain forward-looking statements.  Such statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "intends," "may," "estimates," "will," "should," "plans" or "anticipates" or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy.  These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the suggested by the forward-looking statements.  The information provided in this press release is derived from PSAM's analysis and subjective views on the Company and its Securities.  Other persons, including the Company, may have different analysis and views on the information provided herein.

No reliance is accepted on this press release and PSAM disclaims any liability in relation to this press release.  Investors shall only rely on their own assessment prior to taking any decision in relation to the Company and/or the Securities.  PSAM do not undertake any obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

For Investor Inquiries:
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SOURCE PSAM