VIVENDI SELLS ITS LAST STAKE IN UNIVERSAL

French conglomerate Vivendi is now out of the Hollywood studio business. In 2004, it sold 80 percent of Universal Studios and its cable networks, including USA and what is now SyFy, to NBC for $14 billion. On Wednesday it completed its sale of the remaining 20 percent of the company for $5.8 billion, allowing NBC Universal to conclude its deal with Comcast on Friday. In a statement, Vivendi chief Jean-Bernard Levy wished the “parties well in their new venture” and noted that “Vivendi now has control of all its assets.” They include the Canal Plus pay-TV channels in Europe; the Canal Plus film studio in Paris; StudioCanal, which co-finances movies with many American production companies and owns the world’s third largest film library; the U.S. record company Universal Music Group; and the U.S. videogame company Activision Blizzard.