TV network NBC and Vivendi Vice Chairman Mr Edgar Bronfman Jr were left to fight it out for the Universal show business empire after Vivendi Universal's board decided last night to continue talks with the two contenders.
Three months into a multibillion-dollar auction that has drawn some of the media world's top egos, Vivendi's board chose not to pick a winner after reviewing final bids and said it would carry on talks with the two leading candidates instead.
The decision drags out a tangled auction of some of Hollywood's best known assets, including Universal Studios and the USA and Sci-Fi cable TV networks.
"Vivendi Universal has decided to enter into further negotiations with the two strongest bidders," Vivendi said in a statement after a four-hour board meeting in Paris.
Sources familiar with the auction said Vivendi was not ready to take the plunge after Bronfman raised his bid to just over $13 billion at the last minute in an attempt to close the gap with NBC ahead of yesterday's board meeting.
"There is no deadline for choosing a winner but you could expect a decision by the end of September, or in the next two to three weeks," one source close to Vivendi said.
General Electric Co.'s NBC is still seen as the favorite, with a proposal to merge its broadcast network, Spanish-language network and cable channels - CNBC, MSNBC and Bravo - with Vivendi's studio, library and cable channels.
Denied a clear yes-or-no answer, the Bronfman group plans to meet Vivendi today, said a source close to the team.