Vivendi formally remove chairman

Jean-Marie Messier, the much-maligned chairman of Vivendi Universal, has been formally removed from his post and replaced by Jean-Rene Fourtou, of the pharmaceutical giant Aventis.

Messier’s removal had been expected for days, but was formalised at a hastily called board meeting. The move capped a spiralling crisis at the media giant whose shares lost 76% of their value this year.

The company said it would make transparency and what Fourtou called a "short-term liquidity crisis" its priority.

"I now have a lot of work to solve the short-term crisis," Fourtou told reporters at Vivendi Universal headquarters.

"I have some ideas. I’m quite confident we are going to solve it."

A "financial and strategic diagnosis" of the company will be made in less than three months by two specially-appointed committees, a Vivendi statement said.

Fourtou, 63, was also appointed chief executive officer. He is a vice chairman of the supervisory board of the French-German firm Aventis.

Two other directors were replaced at the meeting. Claude Bebear, AXA insurance executive - a public critic of Messier - replaces Jean-Louis Befla, Vivendi said. Gerard Kleisterlee, Philips chief, replaces Philippe Foriel-Destezet.

It was not clear whether Messier, 45, attended the meeting that put an end to his high-profile tenure at the helm of a company he transformed in six years from a water utility to a slick, but ailing, media and entertainment conglomerate.

Confidence plunged when Vivendi announced its massive net loss for 2001 of €13.6bn - the largest amassed by a French company.

Vivendi shares tumbled 22% on the Paris exchange yesterday, compounding Tuesday’s huge losses, when they hit 14-year lows and plunged 25%.