France's stock market regulator has handed the results of a 15-month inquiry into Vivendi Universal's financial disclosures to the Paris public prosecutor, a source said today.
The market watchdog, La Commission des Operations de Bourse (COB), has been investigating allegations that media group Vivendi gave false and misleading information to shareholders just before its board fired then-chief executive Mr Jean-Marie Messier.
On Friday, Vivendi said it had received a letter from the COB, notifying the company it had three months to respond to a "notice of grievance" outlined in the regulator's findings. The company said it intended to co-operate fully.
The COB declined to comment and no one at the prosecutor's office was immediately available for comment.
Citing people familiar with the COB's findings, the Wall Street Journalreported this morning the French stock market regulator had concluded that Vivendi committed irregularities in its financial disclosures under Mr Messier.
But French newspaper Les Echosreported that the COB had found areas that "raised questions" and drew "sharp criticisms" but had concluded that complex financial transactions in 2001 and 2002 were not necessarily irregular.
Vivendi came close to collapsing under huge debts last year after Mr Messier went on an acquisition spree. Mr Messier was later forced out and his replacement, Mr Jean Rene Fourtou, has spent the past year unwinding many of his predecessor's deals to get the company back on its feet.
AFP