Paris (AFP)
The acquisition by Veolia of its competitor Suez, the source of an open war between the two companies for weeks, "will not work" without an agreement between the two groups, said Tuesday the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire.
"I hope that the discussions will resume immediately," he added on France Info, denouncing the "intransigence" of Suez and "the haste" of Veolia, the day after Engie's decision to accept sell its shares in Suez to Veolia.
The State, a shareholder of Engie and present as such on the board of directors of the energy group, has voted against this sale to Veolia of 29.9% of the capital of Suez.
The improved offer from Veolia, which offers Engie 3.4 billion euros, expired Monday at midnight.
"Force marriages (...) I do not believe in it. I think it does not work", insisted the minister, defending the "constant" position of the State in favor of an "amicable agreement" between Suez and Veolia.
"I think that an amicable agreement was possible, we have been working on it for days. (...) We were a few centimeters from an agreement. We encountered intransigence from some and haste from others", he regretted.
He now hoped that "discussions will resume immediately" between the two French giants of water and waste management, specifying that he himself would take a step back on this issue, in the midst of the economic crisis.
"I gave a lot in this case and I am thinking above all of the 65 million French people who are worried about their jobs (...), so I will take care of the French", he said.
Tuesday morning in a press release, Suez said "take note of the takeover by Veolia of 29.9% of its capital, in a hostile manner and under unprecedented and irregular conditions".
© 2020 AFP