FILE PHOTO OF USA NETWORKS CHAIRMAN BARRY DILLER, 2001-10-11 (photo)

Barry Diller, chairman of USA Networks is pictured at a Los Angeles benefit dinner in this October 11, 2001 file photograph. French media conglomerate Vivendi Universal is close to an agreement to buy the stake it does not already own in USA Networks Inc. for about $12.4 billion in cash, stock and assumed tax liability, a source familiar with the deal said on December 16, 2001. Details are still being finalized, with announcement of an agreement likely within a week, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Under the transaction, Vivendi Universal would pay about $9 billion for the stake it does not already own in USA Networks, whose assets include cable channels, the USA Network and USA's television production unit. REUTERS/Fred Prouser/Files FSP/ME