Talk:Vivendi/Archives/2013

Suggested improvement of the article by removing unnecessary comments and opinions etc
I suggest the third paragraph from the top that ends "... a study in the triumph of personal ambition and greed over common sense" is removed. It's another example of the problem with people that do not understand risk, returns or present value commenting on failed investments. First of all the percentage of loans as the total of a company's total asset value (enterprise value) is not good or bad, it's just changes the risk and expected return of the shares in the company, in other words it increase the probability that those shares become worthless in any future year or worth much more as a percentage of todays value. Secondly Messier probably didn't overpay for the assets contrary to what is suggested. Since the market also held these lofty projections (that were subsequently revised) for the internet and media and other things the valuation was clearly not stupidity but the best possible guess of what the future may look like. I could go on but I instead suggest you read one of the best selling text-books on investments like Brealey-Myers, Bodie-Kane-Marcus or Damodaran. -- 16:27, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

Merge article?
Should Vivendi Universal just be merged into this one now? Tom Temprotran 23:39, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
 * I think so, most of the content looks the same. Merge+Redirect.

SA is just the French equivalent of the British plc etc so in line with usual practice it should not be included in the article name if this can be avoided, which it can be. I have already moved the disambiguation page from "Vivendi" to Vivendi (disambiguation) to make way for this to go there. Osomec 16:42, 19 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Page moved. Eugène van der Pijll 20:54, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Double Redirects
Due to various mergers, there are a number of double redirects with this page. I don't have time to fix them all now, but for people who know how to do it (make pages link directly to this page if there's a double redirect, which can be found here), please do so. 66.33.235.186 15:56, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Vivendi Mobile
The article needs to make more mention of the mobile department.

http://www.vgmobile.com/en/home/mobile.html

Mathiastck 23:38, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

Former CEO Statement
"Messier's rapid expansion of the firm, during which he overpaid hugely for media assets, saddling the company with debt far in excess of its market valuation and ultimately bringing it to the brink of collapse, has become a study in the triumph of personal ambition for greed and power over common sense."

Although this is true I don't think it should be included in an introductory paragraph (if at all). Such statments are un-professional, emotive and a matter of opinion. This is an encyclopedia and such statements are not factual and therefore don't warrant inclusion unless referenced. I feel obliged to remove this. Perhaps this would be more fitting under the History section - with references fo course. Please see me if you disagree regarding it's removal. --Mgill 06:00, 3 December 2006 (UTC)--


 * I think this needs to be toned down, especially the personal bits about JMM, but not removed or moved. Messier did embody at the time the excesses of the Internet bubble years, for example paying millions for the brand name Vizzavi which was owned by a cyber-café and flopped anyway.  He was ubiquitous in the French media and his fall was quite spectacular.  His name is still associated with the business more than that of his successors.

I suggest this alternative wording:

Messier's rapid expansion of the firm, during which he overpaid hugely for media assets, saddling the company with debt far in excess of its market valuation and ultimately bringing it to the brink of collapse, has become a symbol in France for corporate hubris and the excesses of the Internet bubble era. Thermaland 09:29, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Addendum Former CEO Statement
" 'Messier's rapid expansion of the firm, during which he overpaid hugely for media assets, saddling the company with debt far in excess of its market valuation and ultimately bringing it to the brink of collapse, has become a study in the triumph of personal ambition for greed and power over common sense.'

Although this is true I don't think it should be included in an introductory paragraph (if at all). Such statments are un-professional......"

I agree wholeheartedly with this statement (made below) and think the wording should be changed.

First and foremost, what Vivendi stands for? Vivendi cames from latin, and has a meaning before this co pany (to which I never heard before)... just an hint

Vivendi will announce StarCraft 2 in a few days
Buy your stocks while they're cheap.
 * Blizzard is one profitable division among how many unprofitable ones?

Second paragraph removed
I've removed the second paragraph of the lead section. It was the line already discussed on this Talk page a few times already: "Jean-Marie Messier's rapid expansion of the firm, during which he overpaid hugely for media assets, saddling the company with debt far in excess of its market valuation and ultimately bringing it to the brink of collapse, has become a study in the triumph of personal ambition over business sense."

Although this has been in the article for about a year, it's unreferenced and doesn't comply with our neutral point of view policy. A well-referenced and neutral discussion of Vivendi's debt issues is already in the 'Money and Politics' section; we don't need it in the lead, and especially not written like that. Terraxos 01:08, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

Lawsuit development
On Sept.13th, 2011, the British Guardian reported: "... the shareholder complaint refers to lawsuits launched by rivals Vivendi and EchoStar, who accused the company, which News Corp acquired in 1992, of illegally extracting the code of its smart cards used to unscramble satellite TV signals and charge subscribers. In court documents, Amalgamated Bank says NDS posted the Vivendi code on the internet, allowing hackers to break into broadcasts for free and inflicting more than $1bn in damages on its competitor." The lawsuit was filed in Delaware and would be something to watch. 144.136.176.101 (talk) 02:55, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

Number of Employees
The fact boxes state the number of emploees as

5000  2010   Vivendi

4600  2009   Blizzard Entertainment

4000  2010   Activision

I conclude that all the figures are for the whole of Vivendi and that we should remove the figures for the subsidiaries, because they are misleading. --Ettrig (talk) 13:23, 19 August 2011 (UTC)