Standard&Poor's revised its outlook on France-based multi-utility Vivendi Environnement S.A. (VE) to stable from negative on June 18, 2002, reflecting Vivendi Universal S.A.'s (VU) decision to reduce its stake in VE to 40% from the current 63%, in part through dilution as a result of a planned capital increase by VE of up to €1.5 billion. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its triple-'B'-plus long-term and 'A-2' short-term corporate credit ratings on VE. The capital increase will improve VE's financial flexibility and help fund ongoing growth investments. The fact that VU will no longer exercise majority control of VE is also a positive credit factor for VE, as it further increases the company's independence. When assigning
