NEW YORK (AP) — Vivendi's former CEO says he made mistakes in his troubled bid to turn a French water company into a global media giant but never misled shareholders about the risks involved.
Jean-Marie Messier (mehs-YAY') told a federal jury Friday in New York he did his "very best" to build the company and couldn't foresee worldwide financial problems that contributed to its near-bankruptcy in 2002.
He's on trial in a lawsuit filed for thousands of investors. They say what was then Vivendi Universal hid its worsening finances in 2001 and 2002.
Messier led a buyout binge that saddled the company with billions of dollars of debt. Its shares lost more than 80 percent of their value. He was forced out in 2002.
Vivendi has since reorganized successfully.
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