Lehman Brothers has survived the management team reshuffle at Vivendi Universal to retain the advisory mandate for the media group's €920m ($904m) sale of Telepiu, the Italian pay television subsidiary of Canal Plus, to News Corporation and Telecom Italia.

Lehman was originally awarded the mandate in April 2001 to advise Vivendi Universal on the possible acquisition of Stream, the Italian pay television business jointly owned by News Corporation and Telecom Italia. The deal was scuppered in May this year as Vivendi's management revised its expansion strategy in the face of a worsening liquidity crisis and unfavourable market conditions. By July these concerns had resulted in the forced resignation of Jean-Marie Messier, the group's former chief executive.