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.
Jan 19 2021, 12:18 PM
January 17 2021, 11:52 PM
January 19 2021, 12:18 PM
(Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg)
Two private equity firms waded into the bitter takeover battle between Suez SA and Veolia Environnement SA, but there was little indication that their involvement would break the stalemate.
Ardian SAS and Global Infrastructure Partners said Sunday theyâre prepared to make a friendly, 11.3 billion-euro ($13.6 billion) offer for French water utility Suez, which is trying to fend off a takeover attempt by arch rival Veolia.
Suez said it was ready to discuss the potential private-equity approach with Veolia, though stopped short of ending its months-long refusal to engage with Veoliaâs takeover proposal. Veolia countered that it would only discuss its own bid for Suez and had no intention of selling the 29.9% stake it bought in the company in October.
The chief executive of France's Veolia said on Monday he would contact the boss of waste and water management rival Suez about starting a dialogue to break an impasse over Veolia's takeover bid.
French Finance Chief Says Killing Carrefour Bid Is Good Politics
By
Bruno Le Maire
(Bloomberg) French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that shooting down a foreign takeover bid for supermarket chain Carrefour SA last week was all about the politics.
In an interview on RTL radio Monday, Le Maire mounted a staunch defense of his decision to kill talks between Carrefour and Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., citing the need to defend French sovereignty and a strategic asset.
“Food security is non-negotiable,” he said, without explaining clearly how the deal might have threatened French food supplies. “The political sense of this economic decision is that I believe in food sovereignty. I want to guarantee that even in the case of a pandemic” supply chains won’t be at risk.