The Bouygues group announced on Wednesday that it had filed a binding offer with Engie the day before to buy Equans.
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This plan to buy back Equans is part of Bouygues' strategic approach aimed at creating a major player in multitechnical services
", the group specifies in a brief press release, adding that it does not intend to resort to a capital increase. to finance this acquisition.
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Engie, 23.64% owned by the French state, launched the process of selling its subsidiary in early September, created precisely with a view to splitting the technical services activities of the energy giant. All under the watchful eye of the government as the presidential election approaches. A board of directors is due to take place this week at Engie to discuss the offers presented. The candidates for the takeover had until Tuesday, November 2 to submit their firm offer. Two other offers are in the running, those of the French group Eiffage and the Bain Capital fund, allied with the French financier Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, founder of the diversified holding company Fimalac. Spie, a multitechnical services group for businesses and communities, withdrew from the race in mid-October.
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Bouygues announced at the end of August that it was interested in buying Equans, which brings together the majority of Engie's technical service activities (air conditioning, heating and ventilation, electricity, digital, mechanical, general services, etc.).
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Geographically, the markets of Equans, Europe and the United States, correspond to the places where we want to develop
”, argued Olivier Roussat, CEO of the group.
With 74,000 employees, Equans represents a turnover of nearly 12 billion euros, according to Engie, which hopes to draw five to six billion euros from this operation.
In the first half of 2021, revenue for the Bouygues group's Energy & Services division amounted to € 1.9 billion.
