Vivendi has confirmed that it has received a EUR1.25 billion (USD1.67 billion) payment from Deutsche Telekom, bringing to an end its long-running dispute over Polish mobile phone operator Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), writes Dow Jones Newswires. In a statement, Vivendi said that the receipt of the funds effectively annuls the litigation surrounding PTC’s share capital ownership.
Late last year Deutsche Telekom and Vivendi announced they had settled their ten year legal battle over PTC, giving the German company sole ownership of the Polish company and freeing up more cash for Vivendi to spend on buying out minority stakes in its domestic subsidiaries. The legal dispute in Poland had centered on a 48% stake in PTC that Germany’s Deutsche Telekom bought from a joint venture between Vivendi and its Polish partner. Vivendi had appealed a 2004 court ruling that granted Deutsche Telekom the right to buy the stake, arguing that the call option wasn’t valid.