Agreement between Veolia and Suez, towards French 'green' giant

The French company in the water and waste management sector, Veolia, has announced that it has reached an "agreement in principle" with its rival Suez in view of a "rapprochement" between the two companies.

The agreement, according to a statement, was reached last night and puts an end to a financial, media and judicial battle that lasted several months.

    In the same press release, the two French groups explain that they have "agreed on a price of 20.50 euros for each Suez share conditional on the conclusion of the rapprochement agreement".

At the beginning of the Veolia negotiation, he proposed 18 euros while Suez asked 22.50 euros per share.

    After the announcement of the agreement, the shares of the two multinationals fly to the Paris stock exchange.

Veolia shares advanced 7.8% to € 24.33 while Suez gained 8% to € 19.92.

The merger of the two French giants will allow the creation of a "world champion in ecological transformation", with a turnover of around 37 billion euros, according to a Veolia statement.

The two French multi-utilities have agreed to reach a definitive agreement by 14 May next.

The operation, closely followed by the French economy minister Bruno Le Maire, will be subject to the authorizations of the competent authorities.

    Suez is the second shareholder of the Capitoline multi-utility Acea with 23.3% of the capital. 

The French Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, applauds the agreement reached between Suez and Veolia, which has finally reached a compromise that puts an end to a financial, media and judicial battle that lasted several months.

The price on which the agreement was made valued the whole of the Suez company at around 13 billion euros.

"This agreement - states Le Maire in a statement to the France Presse agency - protects competition at the service of customers between two large national industrial companies".

For the minister, "it guarantees good development on national and international markets" and "protects employment".