Much talk at Vivendi regards the future of the group now they seem likely to merge their non-music US entertainment operations with NBC. Word is chief exec Jean-Rene Fourtou - who originally said he wanted out of the US market altogether - is toying with the idea of splitting his conglom into two - with a US entertainments company consisting of the record labels and their potential 25% share in NBC Universal, and a French utilities company combining its telecoms and pay-TV operations there. Quite what that would mean for the day to day running of Universal Music - and its relationship with its sister movie, games and TV businesses, is unclear.
Meanwhile there are reports that Edgar Bronfman Jr, who stood down from the Universal board while bidding to buy he group's entertainment assets, is planning to take back his place on the board now that Vivendi have opted with the NBC deal - which could lead to some interesting meetings. The New York Post also reckons Bronfman may now make a bid for Universal's record labels, even thought Fourtou still seems adamant they're not for sale.