Vivendi Universal is one step closer to existence as the proposed merger cleared its first U.S. regulatory hurdle.
“In the U.S., the statutory waiting period expired without additional requests [from the Federal Trade Commission], and therefore the antitrust clearance process in the U.S is complete,” said Seagram Chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr. on a conference call with analysts.
A spokesman for the FTC confirmed the deal sailed through last week, adding that no anti-competitive concerns were raised during the early termination waiting period, and therefore the FTC did not need to request additional information.
That is not the case in Europe, however, since the European Commission asked the Paris-based Vivendi to resubmit its proposal to buy Seagram and the rest of Canal Plus that it does not already own.
The Commission ruled that the initial filing was incomplete.
Still, while the European regulators pore over the nitty-gritty details of the merger, Bronfman said he is “hopeful to close the transaction sometime in November.”
Meanwhile, the Montreal-based Seagram reported its fourth-quarter earnings yesterday.
The company said it lost $128 million, or 29 cents a share, for the quarter ended June 30, compared with $129 million, or 32 cents, a year ago.
The results were better than Wall Street expected, however.
The owner of Universal Studios and Universal Music Group said revenues rose to $3.7 billion in the quarter from $3.5 billion a year ago, while cash flow surged 56 percent to $217 million.
The world’s largest music group’s cash flow for the year exceeded $1 billion for the first time, the company said.
Seagram closed up 50 cents yesterday at $56.75.