Patricia-Anne Tom

Paris -- Vivendi Universal, the French parent company of Onyx North America Corp., decided on July 3 to divest part of its stake in Vivendi Environnement, parent company of Onyx North America and several other businesses, to help lower debt. Vivendi Universal still will retain approximately 40 percent of the firm; it currently owns 63 percent of the environmental unit.

Onyx North America purchased Superior Services Inc. in 1999. Vivendi Environment bills itself as a world leader in environmental services. Its Onyx unit has 70 million customers worldwide and is the market leader in Europe.