Institutional investors reach confidential settlement with Vivendi

Written by Natalie Tuck

19/07/2024

A group of institutional investors based mainly in the US, Germany, Sweden and the UK have reached a settlement with French company Vivendi over misleading financial claims dating back to the early 2000s.

A total of 119 institutional investors accused the French company Vivendi of disseminating false or misleading information between 2000 and 2002, thereby causing them significant stock market damage.

After 22 years of litigation against Vivendi in US and French courts, the parties have reached an agreement that will bring to an end the proceedings currently pending before the International Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal.

The Paris Commercial Court dismissed the institutional investors' claims in July 2021, but they continued to seek damages before the Paris Court of Appeal. French law firm Hugo Avocats, assisted by US law firms Grant & Eisenhofer, Kessler Topaz, Meltzer Check and DRRT, represented 87 of the 119 investors.

“The firms are delighted to have reached an agreement that puts a definitive end to this stock market case which lasted for more than twenty years,” they said in a statement.

In a statement, a Vivendi spokesperson said: “This agreement, with no admission of fault or liability whatsoever, allows Vivendi to eliminate a litigation risk and puts an end to a dispute initiated in 2011 concerning events that occurred more than 20 years ago.”

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