Vivendi confirmed the purchase this week, according to Bloomberg, and the deal puts Apple another step closer to wrapping up its buyout deal with Beats. Vivendi's 13 percent stake in the company had been held by Universal Music Group, one of the other properties it owns and also the world's largest record label.
Apple announced its plans to buy Beats Music and Beats Electronics in May, and that CEO Jimmy Iovine and co-founder Dr. Dre would stay on as Apple employees. Along with the Beats headphones product line, the deal also gives Apple the Beats streaming music service.
iTunes Radio has already given Apple a foot in the door into the streaming music market, but adding Beats Music to its lineup could put the company in a better position to compete with Pandora and Spotify.
Apple has already gained approval for the deal in Europe and is currently awaiting the same from U.S. regulatory agencies. Once that hurdle has been cleared Apple will be able to move forward and wrap up its Beats purchase.