Vivendi holders exchange almost all of 1.75% bonds for Sogecable shares

By Laura Lutz

Des Moines, April 21 - Vivendi Universal said that holders exchanged virtually all of its 1.75% bonds due Oct. 30, 2008 exchangeable for Sogecable SA ordinary shares.

As of April 10, €220.5 million principal amount of the bonds was outstanding.

Vivendi paid 1.0118 Sogecable shares plus €2.00 in cash for each €29.32 principal amount of bonds.

The exchange offer for the bonds began on April 10 and ended on April 18.

As previously reported, Vivendi said on April 10 that it would not exercise its right to pay cash in lieu of shares for any of the bonds.

Grupo Prisa is holding a €28.00-per-share tender offer for all of the shares of Sogecable it does not own.

Vivendi said foregoing its cash settlement right will allow bondholders to take advantage of the whole price offered by Prisa for the Sogecable shares.

In its April 21 announcement, Vivendi said it now owns only 0.64% of Sogecable capital and will contribute those shares to Prisa's takeover bid for Sogecable.

As a result of this deal, Vivendi said its net debt would be reduced by about €217 million.

Vivendi is a Paris-based international media conglomerate.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.