Mr Bronfman will meet with Vivendi's board on Tuesday

Edgar Bronfman, vice chairman of the media giant Vivendi, is narrowing the gap in the bidding war for the firm's Universal entertainment business, according to reports.

Mr Bronfman is considering sweetening his $12bn (�7.6bn) offer ahead of a key board meeting on Tuesday in Paris, according to the Reuters news service.

The current front-runner to take the prize, which includes Hollywood film studios and theme parks, is the US firm NBC, a subsidiary of General Electric.

But reports have suggested Mr Bronfman and his team are already a close contender because of the high cash element to their offer.

Exclusive talks

Vivendi had been hoping to gain as much as $14bn from the sale of Universal's entertainment assets - a sale designed to cut Vivendi's huge debt.

Vivendi will sell its US film business

However, three of seven potential bidders have pulled out of the auction and the company now looks unlikely to realise the full price.

Reuters suggested Vivendi would strike a deal this week to enter into exclusive negotiations with a sole bidder.

After a second round of bidding last week, Mr Bronfman's offer is looking like the only serious contender to NBC.

Cash offer

The Business newspaper suggested Mr Bronfman is offering $8bn in cash as part of his offer, which would see him reclaimed some of the Seagram empire that he sold in 2000.

Vivendi would receive a sizeable amount of cash as well as a quick exit and a stake in a proposed new company to be form with the operator Cablevision.

NBC's offer, says the newspaper, involves $6bn cash and assuming $2bn debt in return for 75% of a joint venture to be created with Vivendi Universal Entertainment.

If Vivendi accepts NBC's offer, it will retain a 25% stake in the merged group for three years, during which time it could hope the business would gain value and allow a more valuable pay out for a later exit.

US hitch?

However, NBC's deal would also deepen Vivendi's involvement with the US entertainment business - a sector that The Business suggested Jean-Rene Fourtou, Vivendi's chief executive, said the group knows nothing about and wants to leave.

The sale of Vivendi's entertainment business has been driven by Mr Fourtou, who committed to pay down the debts of his predecessor Jean-Marie Messier.

Mr Messier was ousted a year ago, after a spending spree that brought the company close to collapse.

As part of his plans to transform Vivendi from a water company to a media conglomerate, he bought the Universal assets from the Bronfman family three years ago.

Vivendi is now involved in a bitter legal dispute with Mr Messier, who is claiming compensation for his dismissal last July.