Vivendi (VIV.PA) has struck a deal to buy out Vodafone's (VOD.L) 44 percent stake in France's second biggest telecom operator SFR for 7.75 billion euros in cash. Vivendi said it would also pay Vodafone an extra 200 million euros, reflecting the generation of cash between Jan. 1 and July 1, 2011. The accord gives Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy something he has long craved: full ownership of the company's largest business unit, which generates nearly half its profits.
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