Vivendi: Hackers wrecked vote

Source: CNN.com

Vivendi Universal will launch legal action on Monday against suspected hackers who allegedly interfered with votes at the company's annual shareholders' meeting last week.

The world's second-largest media company said its board would also meet on Monday to call for a new shareholders' meeting for early June. That would give shareholders another opportunity to vote on issues that were voted down.

Chief Executive Jean-Marie Messier alleged late on Friday that hackers had sabotaged electronic voting. The company didn't identify who the alleged hackers were.

At the raucous meeting last Wednesday, shareholders jeered and called for the resignation of Messier and quashed plans for the executive to pick up 2 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in share options.

The company said electronic hacking led to an unusually high abstention rate of at least 20 percent.