The French media giant Vivendi Universal has stepped up its efforts to raise cash by announcing the sale of half its stake in its utilities arm.

The company said its board has approved the transaction, which could eventually lead to a total sale of its 40% stake in Vivendi Environnement.

Buyers of the Environnement shares will have the chance to buy the other half of Vivendi's stake by December 2004, the company added in a statement.

In recent months, the company has been weighing up various plans to slash its massive debts.

Vivendi plans to dispose of assets worth 7bn euros (�4.5bn; $7bn) by the end of the year - and a further 16bn euros by the end of November 2004.

Publisher sold

Vivendi also sealed its deal to sell Houghton Mifflin, its US educational book business, on Thursday for 1.7bn euros.

This worked out about 500m euros less than it originally paid for it.

The new deals mean that Vivendi should be able to reduce a 3bn euro loan it arranged as a lifeline in September.

Following the sales, Vivendi will be left with a group of telecom and television assets in France, and a movie and music business in the US.

The media giant has also faced a bid from the UK mobile phone company Vodafone for its stake in Cegetel, a French mobile operator.

But Vivendi has been reluctant to sell Cegetel, one of its few profitable and cash-rich businesses.

An additional reason for holding onto Cegetel is that without it, Vivendi's main interests would be in the US entertainment media sector, making it difficult for the firm to maintain its French identity.

Accounts scandals

Currently, the company is also undergoing a range of investigations.

Its account are being probed in France, and it admitted last week that it faced two preliminary criminal investigations in the US.

In France, Vivendi is being investigated by the stock exchange regulator and the Paris prosecutor, after shareholder complaints that, under the firm's former chairman Jean-Marie Messier, false financial information was released.

Mr Messier was replaced in July by Jean-Rene Fourtou, who is struggling to restore confidence in the embattled company.