Veolia plans to raise price for a 29.9% stake in Suez - CEO
Reuters
Published Sep 25, 2020 08:09
Updated Sep 25, 2020 10:50
PARIS (Reuters) - French utility Veolia (PA:VIE) will increase its offer to buy the bulk of Engie's (PA:ENGIE) stake in smaller rival Suez (PA:SEVI) and has the financial capacity to do so, CEO Antoine Frerot said on Friday.
Frerot also told reporters that Veolia would not ask for a seat on Suez' board if the company buys Engie's stake.
He did not specify by how much Veolia would increase its offer.
Veolia last month offered Engie 2.9 billion euros ($3.39 billion) for a 29.9% stake in Suez, with a view to subsequently taking full control of its rival by buying up more shares.
Engie, which owns almost 32% of Suez, rejected Veolia's initial advance but has said it would consider a higher offer.
Suez sees Veolia's bid plan as hostile and is working on finding a consortium of investors to put together a rival bid for Engie's stake.
The company also set up a foundation to protect its water business in France that Veolia plans to sell to Meridiam Infrastructure.
Frerot said he was hoping to find a way to fend off the foundation that Suez put in place.
Suez shares were up 4.15% at 0856 GMT.
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Written By: Reuters
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