Former Vivendi Chief Said To Be Using Company Money for Personal Bills
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The disgraced chief of Vivendi SA who was ousted in 2002 when he left the 150-year-old French company near bankruptcy, Jean-Marie Messier, is now being accused by a business partner of using his new company’s money to pay personal bills and shuttle his girlfriend on a Caribbean vacation.
Mr. Messier’s business partner, Fatine Layt, is asking a Manhattan Supreme Court judge to force Messier Partners to turn over business records so she can prove the company misspent $150,000 and owes her millions of dollars.
According to court papers filed Friday, Ms. Layt has a 25% stake in Messier Partners, which consults on mergers and acquisitions and was founded by Mr. Messier after he left Vivendi.
Under Mr. Messier, Vivendi made $77 billion in acquisitions, including Universal Music Group, but the moves, made about six years ago, led to recorded losses worth billions of dollars.
To settle federal misconduct allegations, Mr. Messier agreed to pay $1 million in civil penalties and was banned for a decade from leading publicly traded companies.
A message left with Messier Partners wasn’t returned over the weekend.
