Suez receives Ardian-GIP proposal

PARIS: French water management company Suez received an acquisition offer Sunday from investment firms Ardian and GIP as it fights off a bid from arch-rival Veolia. Months of acrimonious wrangling between the two massive French companies have seen Veolia manoeuvre to become Suez’s main shareholder after purchasing a 29.9 percent stake. But Ardian is now offering 18 euros per share ($21) — matching another earlier Veolia offer that valued the whole company at 11.3 billion euros ($13.65 billion). Suez’s board of directors said it had received a “letter of intent from

Ardian and GIP (Global Infrastructure Partners), aiming to allow a friendly and rapid solution to the situation created by the Veolia offer”. The fresh proposal aims to guarantee the sustainability of the two French giants of water and waste by offering a way out. Suez CEO Bertrand Camus said the Ardian offer would preserve jobs and maintain “essential competition” within France.

The proposal “has the advantage of ticking a lot of boxes”, he said in a statement. Last year, commodities giant Veolia secured a deal to buy almost 30 percent of Suez from Engie, an energy player in which the French state owns a 22 percent stake-despite the government voting against the sale. Veolia’s takeover had the potential to create a global giant supplying power generation, waste management and water services to municipalities worldwide. —AFP