Lazard has emerged as the bank that worked alongside Schroder Salomon Smith Barney (SSSB) in structuring the complex negotiations with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for Vivendi Environnement's 19.9% stake in Southern Water.

RBS has acquired the remaining 80.1% in Southern Water through Southern Water Capital, a holding company created for the transaction. It plans to reduce this stake to 40% by selling half of the holding company to other institutional investors.