French conglomerate Vivendi SA placed 20 percent of its water and waste services operations on the Paris stock exchange. The new listing, Vivendi Environment, includes the operations of well-known American names such as U.S. Filter, The Kinetics Group and Culligan. Plans are for the new company to also be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the near future.
The move follows Vivendi's announcement in June to acquire liquor and entertainment conglomerate Seagram Co. for $32.26 billion. Vivendi has its sights set on pairing up Seagram's MCA and Universal entertainment division with its own growing Internet operations.