The outfit is facing mutterings from its investors who believe that its “chicken with its head cut off” strategy is producing mixed results and poor share performance. It looks like advertising group Havas and video games maker Ubisoft are expected to be the first targets as Vivendi moves into the next phase of its expansion.

In three years, Chairman Vincent Bollore has spent nearly 15 billion euro of Vivendi's cash on shareholders and acquisitions, including taking large stakes in Telecom Italia and Italian broadcaster Mediaset.

Bollore is expected to defend his record at an annual shareholders meeting in Paris

Ubisoft, which is 25 percent owned by Vivendi, fears resistance from its founding Guillemot family could potentially lead to a costly, unsolicited full takeover bid.

Bollore, who made his fortune by building a family-run conglomerate with activities from logistics to electric batteries to advertising, is known for his capacity to turn businesses around and make shrewd investments.

However he hit the skids in Italy where he could not deliver a rapid return on investments.

An Italian regulator also ordered Vivendi last week to cut its stake in either Telecom Italia or Mediaset within a year, ruling that the French company was in breach of rules designed to prevent a concentration of corporate power.