Compagnie Générale des Eaux
Encyclopedia
Compagnie Générale des Eaux (CGE) was a French multinational company which gave birth to three world's leaders in their respective fields: VINCI
, Veolia Environnement and Vivendi
.
CGE's core activity was water supplying and still existed under the name Veolia Water
, division of world's biggest environment service company Veolia Environnement. It was at once part of Vivendi
.
.
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.
as CEO in 1976, CGE extended its activities into other sectors with a series of takeovers.
, energy
, transport
services, and construction
and property
. It acquired the Compagnie Générale d'Entreprises Automobiles (CGEA), specialized in industrial vehicles, which was later divided into two branches: Connex
and Onyx Environnement. CGE then acquired the Compagnie Générale de Chauffe, and later the Montenay group. The Energy Services division these companies became part of, was later (1998) renamed Dalkia
. During this period the company also had a healthcare subsidiary, Generale de Santé, which it sold to Cinven
in 1997.
, the first Pay-TV channel in France, and in the 1990s, they began expanding into telecommunications and mass media
, especially after Jean-Marie Messier succeeded Guy Dejouany on June 27, 1996. In 1996, CGE created Cegetel to take advantage of the 1998 deregulation of the French telecommunications market, accelerating the move into the media sector which would culminate in the 2000 demerger into Vivendi Universal and Vivendi Environnement (Veolia).
The CGE is the predecessor of three world's leaders in their respective fields:
VINCI
Vinci is a French concessions and construction company, formerly called Société Générale d'Enterprises. It employs over 179,000 people and is the largest construction company in the world by revenue. Vinci is listed at Euronext's Paris stock exchange and is a member of the CAC 40 index...
, Veolia Environnement and Vivendi
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.- History :...
.
CGE's core activity was water supplying and still existed under the name Veolia Water
Veolia Water
Veolia Water , the water division of the French company Veolia Environnement, is the world's largest supplier of water services....
, division of world's biggest environment service company Veolia Environnement. It was at once part of Vivendi
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.- History :...
.
History
On December 14, 1853, a water company named Compagnie Générale des Eaux (CGE) was created by an Imperial decree of Napoleon IIINapoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
.
In 1854, CGE obtained a concession in order to supply water to the public in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, serving in this capacity for over a hundred years. In 1861, it obtained a 50-year concession with the City of Paris.
Guy Dejouany's era
For more than a century, Compagnie Générale des Eaux remained largely focused on the water sector. However, following the appointment of Guy DejouanyGuy Dejouany
Guy Dejouany was the CEO of Compagnie Générale des Eaux, from 1976 to 1995.Guy Dejouany worked as Chief Executive Officer of Vinci PLC from 1990 to 1996...
as CEO in 1976, CGE extended its activities into other sectors with a series of takeovers.
Diversification
Beginning in 1980, CGE began diversifying its operations from water into waste managementWaste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
, energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
, transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
services, and construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
and property
Property
Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...
. It acquired the Compagnie Générale d'Entreprises Automobiles (CGEA), specialized in industrial vehicles, which was later divided into two branches: Connex
Veolia Transport
Veolia Transport is the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia Environnement...
and Onyx Environnement. CGE then acquired the Compagnie Générale de Chauffe, and later the Montenay group. The Energy Services division these companies became part of, was later (1998) renamed Dalkia
Dalkia
* Dalkia, a kingdom in the game Soul Calibur III.* Veolia Energy-Dalkia is a corporate group focused on energy and a part of Veolia Environnement....
. During this period the company also had a healthcare subsidiary, Generale de Santé, which it sold to Cinven
Cinven
Cinven is a British private equity firm founded in 1977 with offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan and Hong Kong. Currently, the company has raised four funds, with the last one signing up €6.5 billion...
in 1997.
Telecomunications
In 1983, CGE helped to found Canal+Canal+
Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. It is 80% owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted...
, the first Pay-TV channel in France, and in the 1990s, they began expanding into telecommunications and mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, especially after Jean-Marie Messier succeeded Guy Dejouany on June 27, 1996. In 1996, CGE created Cegetel to take advantage of the 1998 deregulation of the French telecommunications market, accelerating the move into the media sector which would culminate in the 2000 demerger into Vivendi Universal and Vivendi Environnement (Veolia).
Vivendi and CGE's legacy
In 1998, Compagnie Générale des Eaux changed its name to VivendiThe CGE is the predecessor of three world's leaders in their respective fields:
- VINCIVINCIVinci is a French concessions and construction company, formerly called Société Générale d'Enterprises. It employs over 179,000 people and is the largest construction company in the world by revenue. Vinci is listed at Euronext's Paris stock exchange and is a member of the CAC 40 index...
, the largest construction company in the world by revenue; - Veolia Environnement, the world's largest environment service and private water company;
- VivendiVivendiVivendi 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.- History :...
, French internationalInternational----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
media conglomerateConglomerate (company)A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
with activities in music (Universal Music GroupUniversal Music GroupUniversal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
), television (Canal+ GroupCanal+ GroupCanal Plus Group is a French film and television studio and distributor. It is controlled by Vivendi and has a film library in excess of 5,000 films. Vivendi has sold some parts of Canal Plus to private investors which are still using the name of Canal Plus...
) and film (Vivendi EntertainmentVivendi EntertainmentVivendi Entertainment is an independent film, television, DVD and digital distribution company operating in the United States and Canada. It is also a distribution partner for independent content providers....
), publishing, telecommunications (Maroc TelecomMaroc TelecomMaroc Telecom is the main telecommunication company in Morocco.IAM employs around 11,178 employees. It has 8 regional delegations with 220 offices present on all the territory of Morocco.IAM is controlled by Vivendi which has a 53% share of its capital...
, GVTGlobal Village TelecomGlobal Village Telecom is a Brazilian telecomunications company that offers advanced services on fixed phone, broadband for both consumer and business and VoIP...
and SFRSFRSFR is a French mobile phone company. It has over 20 million customers, and provides over 4.6 million households with high-speed internet access...
), the Internet, and video games (Activision BlizzardActivision BlizzardActivision Blizzard, Inc., formerly Activision, Inc. is the American holding company for Activision and Blizzard Entertainment. The company is majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA and was created through the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, announced on December 2, 2007, in a...
).