French conglomerate Vivendi said on Tuesday it was in exclusive talks with the UAE’s telecom operator, Etisalat, to sell a 53-percent stake in Morocco’s operator Maroc Telecom. (AFP/File)

PARIS, France (AFP) – French conglomerate Vivendi said on Tuesday it was in exclusive talks with the UAE’s telecom operator, Etisalat, to sell a 53-percent stake in Morocco’s operator Maroc Telecom.

Vivendi said that if approved, the sale to the Emirates Telecommunications Corp would bring in a total 4.2 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in cash, including the 2012 310 million euros dividend.

The companies intend to close the transaction before the end of the year.

The sale is thought to be part of a bigger strategy by Vivendi to sell-off its telecom holdings to better focus on media activities, dominated by its Univeral Music unit, the world’s biggest music group.

Last week, the Financial Times reported that Vivendi had rejected an $8.5 billion offer by Japan’s SoftBank for Universal Music.