High voltage board of directors in sight at Engie.
Jean-Pierre Clamadieu summoned him at the start of the afternoon to examine Veolia's proposal to buy 29.9% of Suez from the energy company.
Antoine Frérot, CEO of Veolia, submitted on August 30 an offer valid until Wednesday evening, midnight.
And he does not budge: he does not intend to extend the deadline.
This intransigence is a snub for Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, who has been publicly demanding for days an additional delay.
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Bertrand Camus: "If Engie sells 29.9% of Suez to Veolia, we will all enter a turbulent period"
This Tuesday again, in the morning on France Inter and in the afternoon at the National Assembly, the minister repeated that he
"wishes that we take the necessary time"
, insisting that
"the State will not give in to any pressure .
We are not a week, fifteen days or three weeks away. "
This weekend, Bruno Le Maire could not bring together the managers of Suez and Veolia around the same table to avoid the spectacle of two large French companies tearing each other apart.
If Antoine Frérot does not make a last-minute gesture, the minister will have failed to convince him to wait a bit.
And the pressure will then be transferred to the members of the board of directors of Engie, of which the State is the largest shareholder, and in particular on the shoulders of its president, Jean-Pierre Clamadieu.
No alternative offer
Tuesday, in front of the deputies, the president of Engie admitted that the council had
"a very difficult question"
to solve.
He said he was surprised by the terms of Veolia's offer:
"I was expecting a longer, more complex discussion, prior to a takeover bid."
However, the proposal of the group led by Antoine Frérot
"allows a very fast transaction"
, since it concerns only 29.9% of the capital, which avoids falling under the caudine forks of the competition authorities.
At least for this part of the offer, the only one that directly concerns Engie.
SEE ALSO - Veolia-Suez: "The State will not give in to any ultimatum", announces Bruno Le Maire
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To win the support of the energy company board, Veolia will review the price of its offer upwards.
Antoine Frérot explained it last Thursday, without indicating the proposed price.
It will also provide details on the integration of Suez employees into the new group, at all levels of the hierarchy.
Veolia should also offer a new element proving the “friendliness” of its offer.
Veolia's offer places Engie's board in a situation that is all the more delicate since it has no alternative making arbitrage possible.
A dissatisfaction for the boss of Engie.
“
Suez has been very active on the media front
, regretted Jean-Pierre Clamadieu.
But nothing concrete has happened over the past four weeks
. ”
Last Thursday, Philippe Varin, president of Suez, reportedly told him that he needed three months to make up his offer.
This is far from the three-week deadline requested by Bruno Le Maire.
Some observers of the case believe that Engie could satisfy Bruno Le Maire by agreeing to study Veolia's offer for three weeks.
But in the entourage of Antoine Frérot, it is assured that Veolia imperatively needs to be fixed as of Wednesday evening in order to prepare the future.
Read also:
Veolia-Suez: the battle of the water giants turns into a trench war
If Engie refuses, Veolia could abandon its marriage project with Suez, or, more likely, launch an outright takeover bid on the entire capital of the group chaired by Philippe Varin.
And thus to allow all Suez shareholders to accept or reject the offer and the project of the group led by Antoine Frérot.
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