Deutsche Bank and Société Générale's €1.2bn ($1.1bn) sale of shares in Vivendi Environnement is the latest in a series of quick-to-market equity disposals for large European companies.

The sale takes the volume of recent accelerated equity sales over the past week to more than €4.5bn, as companies seek to take advantage increased demand for equities among institutional investors and the consequent recovery in stock markets. The Dow Jones Stoxx index, for example, has risen more than 20% over the last few months.