Vivendi

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Vivendi logo.png
Vivendi
Type Public
Founded December 14, 1853 (Compagnie générale des eaux)
1997 (Vivendi SARL)
June 2000 (Vivendi Universal)
March 3, 2006 (Vivendi SA)
Headquarters Paris, France
Key people Napoleon III (decreed for it be founded)
Industry media
Products media
Number of people 38,315
Website https://vivendi.com/

Vivendi SA is a French media holding company.

Compagnie générale des eaux

Compagnie générale des eaux was a French state-owned water company created by a Decree by Napoleon III on December 14, 1853.

Expansion into other markets

Guy Dejouany became CEO of Compagnie générale des eaux in 1976, and expanded the company into multiple markets by acquiring companies already serving those sectors.

Vivendi SARL

In 1997, Compagnie générale des eaux was renamed Vivendi after the word "vivendus", a Latin participle that means "which is to be lived".

Vivendi Universal

In June 2000, Vivendi, Seagram, and Canal+ merged. As Canal+ owned Universal Studios, the resulting company was named Vivendi Universal.

Vivendi SA

On March 3, 2006, Vivendi Universal sold the majority of its media operations to General Electric and was renamed back to Vivendi.