Paris (AFP)
The managing director of Suez, Bertrand Camus, judged Sunday "aberrant for Suez and fatal for France" the offer made by Veolia to buy the shares of Engie in his group then to launch a takeover bid on the rest of Suez, criticizing "an attempt to major destabilization of a flagship company in our country".
In an interview with Figaro published Sunday evening, he denounces "an opportunistic financial operation, with a baroque approach" which "undervalues the assets of Suez", whose stock market prices are "affected by the Covid" even though Suez is "in the process of reconnecting with growth".
"By buying 29.9% of Suez from Engie, Veolia would immediately get its hands on its real competitor even before launching a possible takeover bid" and "operationally, we would be paralyzed for 12 to 18 months, while we have to respond permanently to calls for tenders ", pleads Bertrand Camus.
"The operation proposed by Veolia is absurd for Suez and disastrous for France. It is an attempt to major destabilize a flagship company in our country," he said.
The boss of Suez rejects any dialogue with the CEO of Veolia Antoine Frérot, saying: "We have too many differences on the future of the two groups".
"Suez does not need to get married: we are already the world leader in water distribution, with 145 million inhabitants served" and "for several years, Suez has had a different project from Veolia, based on choices which prioritize technological innovations and digital ".
Mr. Camus believes that "Veolia is not proposing an industrial project": "it is proposing to dismantle 40% of our activity in France".
And "the 500 million savings he plans will have an impact on thousands of jobs in France and among all of our customers around the world," warns the boss of Suez, adding: "the mega mergers are synonymous with social breakage.
"We have two world champions in France, and there is a risk of ending up with a single player, weakened. It is France which would lose there", pleads Mr. Camus.
“What matters is innovation, agility not size!”.
"With Veolia, we have embarked on an industrial mirage. In accordance with the decision of the Suez Council, my priority is to create an alternative solution".
© 2020 AFP