Vivendi sees Premiere as natural target: report

PARIS (Reuters) - Vivendi (VIV.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sees German pay-TV group Premiere (PREGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) as a "natural potential target", Vivendi Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy was quoted as saying on Thursday.

He also told the Financial Times he remained interested in gaining full control of mobile phone group SFR..

Levy said he expected SFR's minority shareholder, Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), may eventually sell due to a "triggering event" such as an acquisition. Vivendi was not pressing for a deal.

"I am not campaigning, just waiting patiently because I think there will be an opportunity one day even if they (Vodafone) tell me they would like to keep it and they are not sellers," Levy was quoted as saying.

In the interview, Levy rejected calls from activist investors to break up Vivendi.

"It doesn't make sense to break up Vivendi because we just demonstrate through performance that it works well," he said.

He said also Vivendi was not a seller of its 20 percent stake in NBC Universal studio "in the short term" but added "one day we will probably decide to exit".

NBC Universal's main shareholder is General Electric (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

(Reporting by Nick Antonovics; Editing by Paul Bolding)