Here's the story by Reuters as it appeared on Yahoo! News. 

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Media giant Vivendi Universal (EAUG.PA)(NYSE:V - news) set to work sifting through bids for its U.S. entertainment empire on Monday in a multibillion-dollar auction of some of Hollywood's best-known assets.

The French-American group was expecting to receive five bids for the Universal film, TV and theme park business -- known as Vivendi Universal Entertainment -- a source familiar with the matter said.

Bidders include Kirk Kerkorian's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (NYSE:MGM - news); John Malone's Liberty Media Corp. (NYSE:L - news); General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE - news), which owns the NBC television network; and groups led by the former owner of the Universal business Edgar Bronfman Jr. and by Los Angeles billionaire Marvin Davis.

Earlier on Monday, another source familiar with the matter said the bids received at that stage had been for more than $10 billion.

But the terms of the bids differed, as did the mix of assets they were seeking, the sources said. The Bronfman and Davis groups, for instance, were interested in also buying Universal Music Group, but that unit is not included in VUE.

NBC sent a "letter of interest," said a source familiar with the proposal.

Vivendi had originally singled out six potential buyers for VUE -- home to such recent hit films as "The Hulk" and "Bruce Almighty." But media group Viacom did not submit a bid after being told contenders could not cherry-pick assets and must make an offer for all of VUE, sources close to the sale said.

Vivendi's former Chief Executive, Jean-Marie Messier, bought the Universal assets from the Bronfman family three years ago as part of a grand plan to build a giant to rival AOL Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:AOL - news). But his dream was shattered last year as towering debts almost toppled the group, paving the way for his exit.

Admitting it was impossible to run a Hollywood empire from France, Vivendi's new chief Jean-Rene Fourtou has made selling VUE central to his drive this year to cut debt.

Vivendi shares closed 3.6 percent down at 16.10 euros in Paris on Monday. Vivendi American depositary shares fell 67 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $18.55 on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites).

'PATH FORWARD'

A U.S.-based source said the company would decide on a 'path forward" at its regularly scheduled board meeting in Paris on July 1, when it is expected to whittle down the list of bidders.

Vivendi set Monday as the deadline for first-round bids but a source close to the auction said the company would leave the door open to bids for one or two more days. The group hopes to pick a winner by the end of July or early August.

Among contenders posting bids on Monday, Bronfman's consortium, which includes Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE:CVC - news) and several private equity groups, bid for all the U.S. assets including Universal Music, a source familiar with the matter said. Bronfman's spokesman declined to comment.

Vivendi wants to hold on to Universal Music, the world's largest music company with such acts as Eminem (news - web sites) and U2. But both Bronfman and Davis are interested in buying the music arm too.

A spokesman for Davis confirmed his consortium had also put in a bid, but declined to comment further. MGM and Liberty executives were not immediately available for comment.

NBC declined to comment on the content of its letter.

While Viacom was not expected to make a first-round bid, sources said the company could come back later in the process.

The hotly awaited auction will redraw the U.S. media landscape, bouncing the buyer into the big leagues and stripping Vivendi down to its telecoms and French pay-TV business.

If Vivendi cannot get the price it wants, it has said it may float 25 percent to 30 percent of the business. An outright sale is seen as more likely, even though the total price will be not much more than Messier paid for the cable channels alone.

People close to the process say the auction is still an open field with no front-runner. Vivendi is in no hurry and the sale process could run into September, one source said. (additional reporting by Tim Hepher and William Emmanuel in Paris and Bob Tourtellotte in Los Angeles)