Veolia absorbs its historic rival Suez
On August 30, Veolia made an offer of nearly 3 billion euros to Engie in order to buy back almost all of its shares in Suez.
ERIC PIERMONT / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The global water and waste giant managed to absorb Suez, world number two, after a takeover bid on Friday evening and a long standoff.
He now owns just over 86% of Suez.
Advertising
Read more
Veolia
owns 86.22% of the capital of its rival Suez, after a takeover bid closed on Friday evening.
A provisional result which must be confirmed Monday by the Financial Markets Authority (AMF).
Veolia already held nearly 30% of the capital of Suez owned by the electrician Engie (formerly GDF Suez).
And Veolia thinks big.
He wants to ask the reopening of the offer to purchase shares next week to the latecomers to acquire 90% of the capital of Suez.
This would then allow him to trigger a squeeze-out public offer to recover the rest of the securities to hold 100% of Suez and withdraw it from the stock market.
World champion of water and waste
40% of these assets will however be transferred at the end of the month to a consortium of buyers in order to create a new independent Suez refocused on its historical activity: water and waste in France, with positions in China, Africa and Europe.
With this 13 billion euros operation, Veolia will grow from 180,000 to 230,000 employees with a turnover of 37 billion euros, ie 10 billion more.
It will become the world champion of water, waste, energy management and air quality, facing the challenges of ecological transition, with a greater geographical presence where it is practically absent, like Spain.
A champion who however only represents 5% of the sector, in a fragmented landscape.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
France
Companies
Water