Vivendi Universal took legal action in an apparent attempt to delay a bid by Britain's Vodafone for Vivendi's telecommunications arm, Cegetel.
Vivendi (V) issued a writ against Vodafone (VOD) in a Paris commercial court, said company spokesman Alain Delrieu. He declined to provide further details, but said the claim was likely to be considered Monday.
Vodafone said last week that it had agreed to buy out fellow shareholders BT (BTY) and SBC (SBC) for $6.15 billion, giving it a controlling stake in Cegetel.
But under a Cegetel shareholders' agreement, Vivendi has first priority in buying the shares. Its pre-emptive rights expire on Nov. 10.
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Crazy 8s: Microsoft launched the latest version of its Internet service, MSN 8, setting its sights on market leader America Online, which upgraded its own service to AOL 8 a week ago.
At a glitzy launch in New York reminiscent of the dot-com boom, Microsoft (MSFT) said it would let MSN users lock in a price of $22 for its dial-up service for 12 months -- lower than the $24 AOL (AOL) charges.
Users of the new MSN version will no longer receive pop-up ads, which appear in separate windows and have been identified as one of the biggest annoyances for Web surfers.
AOL said last week it will stop third-party pop-ups but will continue to display pop-ups promoting its own properties. EarthLink (ELNK), the nation's No. 3 ISP, has already allowed its subscribers to control and eliminate all pop-up ads.
ISPs are jockeying for position as the emergence of high-speed access threatens to reshuffle the ranks. Even Yahoo (YHOO), which has until now made most of its money through advertising and paid services at its site, is providing access in a recent pact with SBC.
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Le French games zapped: French video game makers are in a tight spot, having run through their cash in recent years and borrowed heavily to fund expansion in a consolidating industry.
Analysts note that risks tied to Infogrames' (IFGM) hefty debt helped to knock about 80 percent off its share price this year, and will continue to weigh on the stock price unless refinancing solutions are found.
Its smaller domestic peer, UbiSoft, is under less strain, but even it could face some refinancing snags further down the line, according to analysts.
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JDS will consolidate: Network equipment maker JDS Uniphase said it plans to cut more jobs and further consolidate operations as fiscal first-quarter sales plunged more than 40 percent.
The company did not provide specific numbers. It currently has about 8,000 employees, down from 9,000 in July and more than 29,000 at the beginning of last year.
JDSU (JDSU), which makes components for fiber-optic networks, has been hard hit by reductions in spending by telecoms that expanded their networks too quickly during the high-tech boom.
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StorageNetworks cuts more: Data storage software maker StorageNetworks (STOR) said it would cut 80 jobs, or 27 percent of its workforce, citing the lingering economic slowdown in the technology sector.
The cuts will reduce StorageNetworks' total workforce to about 215.
AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
