Tense exchanges, but few results at this stage.
Discussions organized during the weekend by Bercy with those involved in the Veolia-Suez file did not allow points of view to be reconciled.
Antoine Frérot, CEO of Veolia, refused on Friday to attend a meeting which he understood was intended to extend, beyond the expiration date of September 30, his offer to Engie to buy him back its 29.9% of Suez.
"We do not need an extension but a decision"
, he is justified in the
JDD.
For lack of a fighter, no meeting was physically held, and it was Bruno Le Maire's chief of staff, Emmanuel Moulin, who had multiple exchanges with the protagonists on Saturday and Sunday.
Read also:
Veolia-Suez: the battle of the water giants turns into a trench war
The tension remains high.
Suez is sticking to its opposition to an offer deemed hostile.
Veolia refuses to change its calendar, despite the request from the Minister of the Economy to give more time.
It is therefore likely that Veolia will very quickly submit the improved offer that it promised to Engie, whose board of directors could meet on Tuesday
- after hearing its president Jean-Pierre Clamadieu at the National Assembly - or by Wednesday at the latest.
Within this board, the balance of power will be decisive, in particular between the independent directors and representatives of the State shareholder, in particular if the latter sticks to its refusal of the timetable set by Veolia.
Antoine Frérot's group must also detail its commitments on employment, and it could provide other pledges to find a more presentable outcome to a case which each of the players accuses the other of hysterizing, and which is now highly political.
According to a person close to the matter, however,
"if a solution emerges, Veolia will have no good reason to refuse a delay"
.
Another source warns against selling the 29.9% block as early as September 30.
"It promises more months of guerrilla warfare."
