The French services giant has given Engie an offer to buy back 29.9% of the capital of its rival.
–Thunderclap in French capitalism. Veolia intends to launch a takeover bid on Suez, its historical competitor. Antoine Frérot, CEO of Veolia, filed on Sunday a purchase offer for 29.9% of the capital that Engie owns in Suez. If this offer is accepted, Veolia will launch a takeover bid for the entire capital of Suez. The acquisition price is 15.5 euros per share, marking a premium of 50% over the Suez price at the end of July and 27% over the Friday price. The operation values Suez 9.7 billion euros.
On paper, it is a giant with 45 billion euros in turnover, 20 billion euros in market capitalization and employing 260,000 people worldwide. The divestitures essential to obtain the approval of the competition authorities will, however, reduce this gigantic footprint. It would bring together two historic companies of French capitalism: Générale des Eaux, which over the years has become Veolia, and Lyonnaise des eaux, today Suez. Both can trace their history back to the Second Empire. They are the ones who invented the model of the delegation of public services in the field of water first, then waste management.
“We are launching the creation of a world super champion of ecological transformation”, rejoices the boss of Veolia. This merger is made possible by the decision, at the end of July, of Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, the president of Engie, to put this participation “Under review”. The boss of Veolia immediately put his teams to work to make a proposal, now on the table. Engie’s advice now has until the end of September to decide.
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