The account involves more than 30 company activities, including the corporate, appliances, lighting and financial services divisions, but not the NBC unit.

A third potential bidder, the NBC unit of the General Electric Company, could also emerge with an offer, the executives said.

By Lisa Myers & the NBC investigative unit.

And the NBC unit of the General Electric Company is promoting a Web site, www.

The NBC unit of General Electric earlier this week sent a letter expressing its potential interest, without specifying any Vivendi assets.

He cited as an example the decision by the NBC unit of the General Electric Company to buy rights to all five Olympics from 2000 through 2008.

Then, in 2004, General Electric's NBC unit acquired 80 percent of Vivendi Universal Entertainment.

The 6th division also included a number of support functions such as engineering and NBC units.

But Vivendi opted to keep the music company and ultimately auctioned its other entertainment operations to General Electric's NBC unit.

The NBC unit of General Electric is believed to have the inside track because Vivendi Universal executives think it would provide the strongest management direction.