StudioCanal, the film and television arm of Vivendi Universal, is believed to be close to announcing the appointment of Pierre Weisbein as head of the outfit's international sales - a position which has been vacant since Daniel Marquet left to oversee the expansion of the studio structure across Europe

In his new capacity, Weisbein would report to Michel Schmidt, executive vice president of StudioCanal, who oversees the outfit's international film and television marketing and distribution activities.

It is not yet clear how Weisbein's appointment will affect StudioCanal's existing sales hierarchy, which has undergone several restructures during the complex transition period since the creation of Vivendi Unversal.

Ongoing developments have seen overlaps between Universal Studios' and StudioCanal's activities gradually being ironed out. The two entities' television sales activities, for instance, have been merged and are now headquartered in Los Angeles under Philip Shulman and Belinda Melendez (who already headed StudioCanal's television distribution activities from Los-Angeles).

Melendes, for her part, took over part of Marquet's job, concentrating mostly on the Americas and the Pacific rim, whereas Le Studio Canal Plus' former sales team dealt mostly with Europe. Speciality division, Wild Bunch, which acquires and sells edgy festival-friendly international titles, has remained for its part, a very self-contained entity.