Vincent Bollore is Vivendi's largest shareholder. He said that he is willing to take the lead for the media and telecommunications group, according to French media outlets. 

For the process of finding its new head, Vivendi had engaged the services of US head hunter Russell Reynolds. The new candidate would be replacing current CEO Jean-Francois Dubos as both CEO and head of the management board. Radio and television station BFM had reported the matter, which they cited industrial albeit anonymous sources.

The first choice of the head hunter was a young German executive who did not pass Bollore's standards. It was for this reason that the French tycoon forwarded his candidacy for the position. This was also confirmed by French daily Les Echos.

Currently, Bollore is a member of the Vivendi supervisory board. He also has a 4.95% shareholdings in the company, as confirmed by data from Thomson Reuters.

A Vivendi spokesperson declined to make any comment on the news media reports.