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Vivendi Universal born
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December 11, 2000: 9:34 a.m. ET
French media company hits Paris market, vaulting to No. 4 among CAC 40 firms
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LONDON (CNNfn) - France's Vivendi Universal SA formally took its place at the top table of worldwide media companies Monday, after consummating the three-way merger of water-and-telecom company Vivendi SA, its pay-TV subsidiary Canal Plus SA and Canada's spirits-to-music company Seagram Co. Ltd.
Vivendi Universal saw its shares land on the Paris stock exchange Monday with something of a thud – down 2 percent, or  1.5, to 73.70 – even though the completion of the deal creates the fourth-largest listed company in France.
Vivendi Universal (PEX) is currently valued at 79.6 billion ($70.6 billion), putting it in the CAC 40 index after France Telecom SA (PFTE), oil company TotalFinaElf SA (PFP) and telecom network gear maker Alcatel SA (PCGE). 
The combined group, run by Vivendi's Jean-Marie Messier, unites the world's top music company – Universal Music – as well as the largest film and TV program library. Much like the potential rival combination of America Online Inc. (AOL: Research, Estimates) and Time Warner Inc. (TWX: Research, Estimates) – which is still in the throes of a regulatory review – Vivendi Universal has both content and the means to distribute it. CNN is owned by Time Warner.
Work is not done, however, on stripping-away the "old-economy" components that remain in the Vivendi Universal portfolio even as the company strives to morph into a media powerhouse.
The company is holding an auction to sell off the spirits and wine business owned by Seagram, which analysts have estimated might fetch between $8 billion and $11 billion. It is also looking to sell its stake in Internet service provider AOL France, expected by the end of the year.
Last week, a total of 98.64 percent of shareholders backed the merger, paving the way for the deal's completion.
-- from staff and wire reports 
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Vivendi Universal
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