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Vivendi makes EU offer
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September 25, 2000: 10:06 a.m. ET
French media firm makes concessions to seek European nod for Seagram buy
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LONDON (CNNfn) - French media-to-water conglomerate Vivendi SA and Canada's Seagram Co. have offered to make changes to their proposed $34 billion combination to appease European Union regulators, the EU said.
"The review is the preliminary stage and we have been offered undertakings," Amelia Torres, spokeswoman for the European Commission, told CNNfn.com.
As a result, the commission had put back its deadline for deciding if the merger plan warrants an extended, four-month EU antitrust investigation, said Torres, shifting the key date to Oct. 13 from Oct. 2. She declined to discuss what concessions the Commission was seeking.
The Commission, the executive arm of the 15-nation EU, was originally expected to clear the deal by Aug. 21 or order an extended probe, but suspended the process last month after Paris-based Vivendi handed in incomplete documentation. No details of the additional information being sought were disclosed.
Vivendi (PEX) announced plans in June to merge with its 49-percent owned pay-TV unit Canal Plus SA (PAN) and buy Canadian entertainment and drinks firm Seagram (VO: Research, Estimates) to form a Vivendi Universal, which would be the world's No. 2 media company.
Vivendi agreed to buy Seagram for its Universal film and entertainment business and is selling off Seagram's spirits and wine activities, which analysts have valued at more than $7 billion.
The Commission is already pursuing an in-depth, four-month review of the proposed merger of America Online (AOL: Research, Estimates) and Time Warner Inc. (TWX: Research, Estimates), a signal of its concern about the consequences of the mega-mergers that are reshaping the media industry.
The Commission is worried AOL and Time Warner, the owner of CNNfn.com, could dominate the delivery of music over the internet. Their combination will create the world's largest media company,
Vivendi did not return calls, while Seagram could not immediately be reached for comment. 
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