Vivendi's Messier 'to resign'

Messier: Loses support of his board

PARIS, France (CNN) -- Vivendi Universal Chief Executive Jean-Marie Messier appears close to resigning after losing the support of key directors.

Shares in Vivendi, the world's second largest media group, jumped as much as 20 percent after reports that Messier had agreed to step down following a weekend battle to shore up support from board members.

"It's true. We've just had it confirmed by the company," an industry source told Reuters on Monday.

The French newspaper Le Monde reported that Messier has reluctantly agreed to resign but talks are continuing on his terms of departure.

The influential supervisory board chairman of insurer Axa (PCS) and Jerome Monod, an adviser to French President Jacques Chirac, plan to install Jean-Rene Fourtou, the vice chairman of drugmaker Aventis (PAVE), as chief executive, according to another French newspaper, Liberation.

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The six European directors, who in the past have defended Messier from his American detractors, are now requesting his resignation. If he does not resign they plan to issue a communiqué on Monday calling on him to step down, the paper said.

Vivendi has declined to comment on the reports.

Messier has faced calls to resign after racking up a huge debt following a $100 billion spending spree. The stock has sunk to a 13-year low amid concerns the company will struggle to cut debt and generate profits.

And his biggest ally on the board, Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of the world's biggest luxury goods group Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, resigned last week.

Arnault has been credited with enabling Messier to fend off criticism over his running of the world's second-largest media company. The resignation was the fifth from the board this year.

Messier only just survived a seven-hour board meeting last Tuesday. At that meeting, the Bronfman family, which has seen the value of its 5.5 percent stake in Vivendi sink to about $1.2 billion from about $3 billion at the start of the year, and other American directors tried to remove Messier and split the company, the Wall Street Journal said.

If Fourtou's nomination is agreed, he is expected to embark on a restructuring plan to sell assets and reduce the company's debt.

Vivendi(PEX) shares were up 10.2 percent to 24.10 euros in early afternoon Paris trading on Monday.