French media group Vivendi Universal is in talks with its Vizzavi partner Vodafone to sell its 50 per cent in the Internet portal, according to the Wall Street Journal Europe.
The paper said this morning a deal could be reached as early as this week and that the sale could raise up to €150 million.
A source close to Vivendi said last week it was likely Vivendi, which has made clear it is not happy with the terms of the joint venture, would sell out to Vodafone.
The head of the embattled media giant, Mr Jean-Rene Fourtou, said late last night he was confident Vivendi would pull through its crisis, with a two billion euro funding deal with banks set to be finalised by end-September.
Mr Fourtou did not mention Vizzavi, although he said last week that Vivendi, grappling with a €35 billion debt pile, would not invest any more in the portal's development.
Vivendi and Vodafone have invested more than a billion euros in the much-hyped Vizzavi, but the portal has failed to attract as many subscribers as its founders hoped.
Vivendi shares plummeted 45 per cent to new lows last week after the group unveiled a €12.3 billion net loss for the first half due to goodwill write-downs and provisions, triggering downgrades to its stock and credit ratings.