French biz style fails in Brazil, Vivendi could pay $1.7bn fine
Post date: Jul 25, 2010 7:08:17 PM
Vivendi and Brazilian phone GVT
Brazil's securities regulator could fine French media company Vivendi (VIV.PA) as much as 3 billion reais ($1.7 billion) for allegedly committing fraud in its takeover of Brazilian phone company GVT, newspaper Folha de S. Paulo said.
Fine largest ever imposed by the Brazilian securities
The fine could be the largest ever imposed by the Brazilian securities regulator, according to Folha, which did not give a timetable for an announcement.
According to Folha, CVM argued that Vivendi probably misled Telefonica and other investors by signaling that it had won control of GVT before it actually had. Vivendi paid 7.7 billion reais for GVT, the fixed-line and data services carrier that is Brazil's fastest-growing telecommunications company.
source: reuters.com