The man who tried to buy the world : Jean-Marie Messier and Vivendi Universal / Jo Johnson and Martine Orange.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnson, Jo, 1971-

Contributor:

Orange, Martine.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Messier, Jean-Marie, 1956-.

Messier, Jean-Marie.

Bronfman family.

Vivendi (Firm)--History.

Vivendi (Firm).

Universal Pictures (Firm).

Seagram Company--History.

Seagram Company.

Businessmen--France--Biography.

Businessmen.

Consolidation and merger of corporations.

Conglomerate corporations.

History.

France.

Canada.

Businessmen--Canada--Biography.

Conglomerate corporations--France.

Conglomerate corporations--Canada.

Consolidation and merger of corporations--France--Case studies.

Consolidation and merger of corporations--Canada--Case studies.

Consolidation and merger of corporations--United States--Case studies.

United States.

Genre:

Biographies.

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xvi, 268 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First American edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Portfolio, 2003.

Summary:

Armed with little more than unlimited bluster and degrees from France's elite academic institutions, Jean-Marie Messier didn't just want to play with the big boys, he wanted to buy up their companies and beat them at their own game. From a secure perch atop a sleepy French water utility, Messier set out to conquer the global media industry. And in very few years, he built an international media powerhouse featuring MCA Records, Universal Studios, USA Networks, book publishers, theme parks, video game producers, and Internet companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Emulating his American counterparts, J2M, as he called himself, moved to New York and occupied a $17.5 million penthouse on Park Avenue paid for by Vivendi. He was viewed on both sides of the Atlantic as emblematic of an exciting new generation of French businessmen that could finally stand up to swaggering American CEOs. At its zenith, Messier's media empire would be second in size only to AOL Time Warner; his subjects would include many of the most admired entertainment executives in the world, including Barry Diller and Edgar Bronfman Jr. As stock valuations climbed out of sight, Vivendi shares led the pack, landing Messier's picture in every financial magazine. Smitten international investors dubbed him the poster boy for the new economy.

But in 2002, the sky fell and Messier along with it. Did the former Lazard Freres investment banker's love of arcane financial structures catch up with him? Or was his hastily assembled collection of disparate assets -- soccer teams, a chateau with a man-made rain forest, an agricultural lab in China, the rapidly devaluing media assets -- all simply bound for failure? On December 12, 2002, a fraud squad swooped down on the Parisian headquarters of Vivendi Universal and Messier's home, seizing files, documents, and e-mails in an attempt to unravel the cause of the sudden financial collapse of France's best-known company. Vivendi Universal is currently at the center of a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice and French prosecutors, as well as a stock market investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Messier became an emblem of everything extravagant about the Internet bubble, not only the inflated valuations, but also the corporate excesses and the catastrophic end. His story, as told by the two reporters who knew him best, combines a fascinating cultural clash and a study in global finance run amok.

Contents:

Chapter 1 A Perfect Frenchman 7

Chapter 2 In Medias Res 26

Chapter 3 Hurry Up Please, It's Time 47

Chapter 4 Bonjour Hollywood! 70

Chapter 5 Maitre du Monde 90

Chapter 6 Vivendi Freres 105

Chapter 7 The French Exception 125

Chapter 8 Speeding Up 143

Chapter 9 Claude and the Boys 169

Chapter 10 Vivendi vs. Universal 195

Chapter 11 The Last Days of J6M 215.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [251]-254) and index.

ISBN:

159184018X

OCLC:

51655456