“Discussions” between the Ministry of the Economy and Suez teams and those of Veolia took place separately on Saturday, AFP learned from the ministry.
With these remote meetings, Bercy's objective is to “find common ground” between the two companies, at loggerheads since the announcement at the end of August of the will to buy back by Veolia the Suez shares held by Engie, specifies the entourage of Minister Bruno the Mayor.
Read also: Veolia-Suez: the battle of the water giants turns into a trench war
The chairmen of the two groups specializing in water and waste treatment were invited on Friday to "engage in dialogue" at the Ministry of the Economy.
A source close to Veolia had told AFP that the CEO of the company, Antoine Frérot, did not intend to go there.
The validity date of the offer from Veolia, the world leader in the sector, remains set for September 30.
But Mr. Frérot announced on Friday that he wanted to increase the price offered to Engie.
The entourage of the Minister of the Economy reaffirmed Saturday that "nothing will be done in haste" on the side of the public authorities.
Suez has been fighting for its independence since the end of August, since its main shareholder, Engie, was offered by Veolia to sell it its 29.9% stake for 2.9 billion euros.
