LIBERTY MEDIA WINS $950 MILLION IN LAWSUIT AGAINST VIVENDI

John Malone’s Liberty Media company has prevailed in a lawsuit against the French media company Vivendi and has been awarded nearly $1 billion by a U.S. federal court. Liberty had claimed that Vivendi kept it in the dark about its financial condition when it sold USA Networks and other assets to Vivendi for stock in December 2001. When Vivendi’s stock collapsed shortly thereafter, Liberty took a bath. Vivendi has no immediate plans to fork over the $950 million it now owes Liberty, saying that it intends to appeal the verdict. In a statement, it said, “Vivendi believes that there are many grounds for appeal and continues to believe strongly that it did nothing wrong, and will continue to vigorously defend itself in any subsequent appellant proceedings.”