Suez announced that it had signed an "
irrevocable promise to purchase
" with Veolia on Wednesday to acquire, for two billion pounds (2.3 billion euros), the former waste activities in the United Kingdom of the former Suez group.
Veolia, which at the end of January absorbed a large part of the historic Suez, was forced by the British competition authorities to give up this asset.
He had first announced in August an agreement to sell, at this price, to the Australian asset manager Macquarie Asset Management.
But the "
new Suez
", an independent entity born after the takeover bid and which wanted to maintain a strong international presence after most of its foreign subsidiaries moved to Veolia, asserted its "
right of first refusal
", as allowed by the agreements concluded at the time of the takeover.
The shareholders of Suez - the Meridiam and GIP funds, with Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurances - gave their "
full support
" to this operation, and the trade unions of Suez in France gave a unanimous favorable opinion, indicates the company in a press release.
The operation thus increases the new Suez from 7.5 to some 9 billion euros in annual turnover, and from 35,000 to more than 40,000 employees.
In 2020, the former Suez achieved around 17 billion in turnover.
"A major step in the implementation of the group's strategy"
"
This is fantastic news
," responded Suez CEO Sabrina Soussan.
“
This transaction will strengthen Suez's activities in the waste market, and increase the share of its international activities.
This is a major step in the implementation of the group's strategy
,” added the leader, who is due to present the content of this development strategy on September 27.
Read alsoVeolia's profits driven by the heat wave and the successful integration of Suez
For the group, which intends to focus on its two core businesses - water and waste management - this is an important acquisition, after that of the largest waste management company in South Africa.
"
This shows the confidence of our shareholders
", welcomed Sabrina Soussan: the group "
has the capital necessary for its development and to invest alongside its customers
".
According to Suez, “
Suez R&R UK
” is today the third player in the field of recycling and waste recovery in the United Kingdom, and has a portfolio of more than 25,000 industrial and local authority customers.
"
It's a company that we know well, which limits the risks, and which has been transformed by brilliantly negotiating the virtual extinction of landfills, moving on to energy recovery and waste recycling
", explains- she told AFP.
More than by the fact that this asset belonged to the historic Suez, this acquisition above all “
makes sense, and creates value.
We are a new company that wants to grow and expand internationally
,” she adds.
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