Court Finds Messier, Bronfman Guilty in Vivendi Case

PARIS: Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Jean-Marie Messier have received suspended sentences and fines by a Paris court, which convicted them on criminal charges for insider trading and misleading investors when they were running Vivendi.

Messier received a 150,000 euros fine for misleading investors when he was CEO of Vivendi, which he transformed from a French water utility company into an international media conglomerate. Bronfman was levied a 5 million euros fine for insider trading while he was vice chairman of Vivendi (today, he is chairman of Warner Music Group). The French conviction comes after a New York shareholder class-action suit last year cleared Messier. Both executives are expected to appeal the French ruling, reports indicate.

Bloomberg quotes an emailed statement from Messier as saying: “This condemnation is profoundly unjust; for this reason I have decided to appeal." In his own statement, Bronfman said, “I am disappointed that the court differed with both the Paris public prosecutor and the lead civil claimant in the case, APPAC, who both took the position that I should be acquitted. As I have consistently stated, my trades were proper.” Warner Music’s board said it “fully supports Mr. Bronfman as he appeals this verdict,” according to Bloomberg.