FRENCH conglomerate Vivendi said yesterday it had sold an initial chunk of its 20 percent stake in United States media group NBC Universal to General Electric for US$2 billion as it shifts its acquisition strategy.

Vivendi said it would sell the remaining 12.34 percent it owns in NBC to GE for US$3.8 billion after the completion of a GE transaction with new NBC owner Comcast, as per an agreement set out in late 2009.

Earlier this month, Vivendi Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy said the group could use the NBC sale proceeds to buy 100 percent of telecom operator SFR, of which it currently owns 56 percent.

Vivendi shares have slid to seven-year lows relative to the European market, largely underperforming peers on concerns about acquisitions, the cost of a US class-action lawsuit and intensifying competition in the French telecom structure.