Barry Diller has quit as chief executive of Vivendi Universal's US based entertainment unit, leading to speculation that the group will sell off many of its entertainment operations sooner rather than later.
Diller got the role overseeing Vivendi's entertainment businesses when the group bought his USA Networks company during that massive spending spree that eventually brought the Vivendi group to the brink. As the Vivendi HQ in France works to overcome the group's financial woes by selling of various European companies, Diller has been looking for buyers for the groups American entertainment concerns. This originally included Universal's music operations (Polydor, Mercury and Island in the UK), though group chief executive Jean-Rene Fourtou recently gave a commitment to keeping the record labels, and has been reportedly by-passing Diller and dealing with Universal Music chief Doug Morris on all music matters.
The sticking point of Diller's departure will be how much he will receive if any of the entertainment companies he sold to Vivendi get sold on. By the USA Networks deal he will get a sizable pay off if any sale takes place, and he is likely to be more ruthless in maximizing that pay off if he is outside the company.