Paris, July 01: Vivendi Universal said on Monday it had been ordered to pay former chief executive Jean-Marie Messier 20.6 million euros ($23.6 million) in a severance deal, a year after his dramatic exit from the media group. Vivendi, which this time last year was teetering on the edge of collapse under the weight of huge debts, said it would challenge the decision by a New York tribunal after seeking to void Messier's termination agreement.

The Franco-American media company fired Messier without a payoff last July amid growing investor revolt over the company's finances. Vivendi blamed the Frenchman for taking the company to the brink of bankruptcy after a frenetic spending spree.
Paris-based Vivendi said it would review the issue at a board meeting on Tuesday when it is also due to discuss bids for the U.S. entertainment empire Messier pieced together that the company is now having to sell to cut its debts.
Messier claims he was owed the severance payment written into the American part of his contract. However, his successor, Jean-Rene Fourtou, says he deserves "nothing." Bureau Report