Vivendi retreats in Elektrim struggle, secures two seats

French telecom operator Vivendi seems to have lost some ground in its struggle to control Elektrim, placing only two of its representatives on Elektrim's new supervisory board named Monday after a 12-hour shareholders' meeting. Although at 10% the French group holds the largest stake in Elektrim and had intended to dominate the company's 9-member board, it almost lost the battle. Analysts say that two additional board members are allied with the French, but the other five seats and the key position of chairman are occupied by representatives of institutional investors centered around Singapore-based Templeton Asset Management, as reported by Reuters. It is also believed that they will support negotiations with Deutsche Telekom (DT) regarding its proposed investment of $400 million to gain control over Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), the Elektrim-owned mobile group. However, Vivendi has already initiated arbitration proceedings against Elektrim for its alliance with DT. (Reuters; Parkiet, p.1) M. S.-C.