Vivendi

Vivendi SA is a French international media conglomerate with activities in music, television and film, publishing, telecommunications, the Internet, and video games. It is headquartered in Paris. On December 14, 1853, a water company named Compagnie Générale des Eaux was created by an Imperial decree of Napoleon III. In 1854, CGE obtained a concession in order to supply water to the public in Lyon, serving in this capacity for over a hundred years. In 1861, it obtained a 50-year concession with the City of Paris. For more than a century, Compagnie Générale des Eaux... remained largely focused on the water sector. However, following the appointment of Guy Dejouany as CEO in 1976, CGE extended its activities into other sectors with a series of takeovers. Beginning in 1980, CGE began diversifying its operations from water into waste management, energy, transport services, and construction and property. It acquired the Compagnie Générale d'Entreprises Automobiles , specialized in industrial vehicles, which was later divided into two branches: Connex and Onyx Environnement.
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