GAMCO v. Vivendi

This appeal stems from the same set of underlying facts as those in In re Vivendi S.A. Securities Litigation, Nos. 15‐180‐cv(L), 15‐208‐cv(XAP), in which the court today issued a separate opinion. GAMCO, so-called "value investors," filed a securities fraud action against Vivendi under section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), 15 U.S.C. 78j(b), as well as the Securities Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Rule 10b–5 (Rule 10b–5) promulgated thereunder, 17 C.F.R. 240.10b–5. The district court subsequently entered judgment for Vivendi. The court concluded that the record supports the district court’s conclusion that, if GAMCO had known of the liquidity problems and their concealment, GAMCO would still have believed Vivendi’s PMV to be “materially higher” than the public market price. The court also concluded that it was also not clearly erroneous for the district court to conclude that knowledge of Vivendi’s liquidity problems would not have changed GAMCO’s belief that a catalyst was likely — i.e., its belief that the market price would rise towards the PMV, if not immediately, then over the course of the next several years. In this case, the record at the trial simply does not establish that it was clearly erroneous for the district court to find that GAMCO, had it known of the liquidity problems at Vivendi, would have made the choice to buy the same securities it purchased. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "GAMCO v. Vivendi" on Justia Law