Moody's may upgrade Vivendi Universal

Moody's Investors Service said it put the Baa3 senior unsecured bond ratings and the Baa3 senior unsecured issuer rating of Vivendi Universal SA (VU) under review for possible upgrade.

The review is prompted by VU's good operating progress, evidenced by a strong set of first quarter results, and the benefits of the recent simplifications in the structure of VU's 18.5% holding in NBC Universal, which removes a number of existing and contingent obligations from VU's balance sheet, the agency noted.

Moody's said its review will focus on VU's overall financial policy and in particular its debt-related financial comfort parameters and its attitude towards subsidiary borrowings as well as its plans to sell its remaining ancillary assets.

Vivendi Universal's first quarter results for 2005 showed overall solid progress with a comparable revenue increase of 7% and earnings growth of 22%, Moody's added.

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