Vivendi reopens News Corp talks

Tuesday 1 February 2000 at 16:00

French group Vivendi yesterday called on Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation to reopen talks on how the two companies might join forces in the wake of the massive AOL-Time Warner merger, reports The Guardian.

Jean-Marie Messier, Vivendi chairman and chief executive, suggested that the two businesses start again after an attempt to merge BSkyB, in which News Corp has a 40% stake, and the French group's pay-TV Canal Plus ended last year.