VIV

Vivendi SE

A French media and entertainment group, Vivendi owns Gameloft, the video-game studio behind mobile hits like Asphalt, plus live-music and ticketing venues such as Paris's L'Olympia. It began in 1853 as Compagnie Générale des Eaux, a water utility chartered by Napoleon III, before rebranding as Vivendi in 1998. The name comes from the Latin "vivendi," meaning "of living" — a nod to life and vitality as it moved from pipes to entertainment.