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Europe's biggest entertainment company, Vivendi, posted solid 2007 earnings on Friday helped by the success of its World of Warcraft video game and said its hunt for acquisitions was not over.

Once debt-crippled, the owner of record giant Universal Music Group has replenished its coffers and embarked on a multi-billion dollar buying spree over the past 18 months, gobbling up music publishers, telecoms operators and video games.

"We will continue to look out for opportunities," Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy told a news conference, adding that it was "legitimate" for Vivendi to look at companies such as German broadcaster Premiere.

The French telecoms and media group said it expected sales to rise by as much as 40% between 2007 and 2009, buoyed in part by acquisitions.

Vivendi met expectations with a 8.3% rise in 2007 adjusted net profit to 2.83 billion euros ($4.27 billion) on Friday while an 8% rise in earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation (EBITA) to 4.72 billion was below some analysts' forecasts.

It forecast similar growth this year, which disappointed some investors.

"Vivendi is conservative in terms of guidance," UBS said in a note. Another analyst based in Paris said its outlook was "not as aggressive as expected."

The French media group posted revenues of 21.657 billion euros in 2007, up 8%, and said it aimed to raise this to 30 billion for 2009.

It proposed a dividend of 1.3 euros a share, up from 1.2 a year earlier.

Its recent acquisitions triggered integration costs which held back parts of the business in 2007.

The launch of Internet access services and the acquisition of Tele 2 in France was blamed for a disappointing performance by SFR, France's second largest mobile operator, which Vivendi controls.

SFR's EBITA fell 2.6% to 2.517 billion euros ($3.80 billion) which ABN Amro analysts said was "slightly short."

SFR announced in December that it would acquire Neuf Cegetel , France's second largest broadband operator, in which it holds 40.5%. The deal is being vetted by regulators.

Vivendi said its pro rata share of Neuf Cegetel's income rose to 78 million euros from 38 million.

GAMES

French pay-TV group Canal Plus, which bought rival TPS in 2006, generated EBITA of 400 million euros including transition costs, up from 75 million in 2006.

Acquisitions helped Vivendi's games business pass the 1 billion euro revenue mark for the first time in 2007 and its EBITA jumped 57.4% to 181 million euros.

It expanded its footprint in the dynamic video games market late last year by merging its games division with U.S.-based Activision and gaining a controlling stake in the combined group called Activision Blizzard.

Activision is best known for its Guitar Hero games, in which players strum guitar-shaped controllers. Other games include Spider-Man and the Tony Hawk series.

Its purchase of Bertelsmann Music Publishing and Sanctuary meant restructuring charges for record unit Universal Music, which posted a 16.1% fall in EBITA to 624 million euros.

Bear Stearns analysts said in a note they had downgraded Vivendi to neutral citing an earnings ratio of 12.2 times 2008 earnings per share.

"With management in acquisition mode and no disposals signalled, the shares should no longer be valued on a sum-of-the parts basis, in our view," they said.

"The shares are now trading in line with a blend of telecoms and media multiples."

Vivendi shares were down 2% at 26.12 euros at 1503 GMT, lagging the DJ Stoxx Media index which was off 1.5%.

(Editing by Catherine Evans and Jason Neely)

By: Astrid Wendlandt and Sarah Marsh

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