(Bloomberg) Two private equity firms waded into the bitter takeover battle between Suez SA and Veolia Environnement SA, but it was unclear whether their entry would lead to a breakthrough or simply entrench the current stalemate. Ardian SAS and Global Infrastructure Partners said on Sunday that they are prepared to make a friendly offer of 11.3 billion euros ($13.6 billion) for Suez, which is trying to fend off a takeover attempt by arch.
French waste and water management company Suez, which is fighting a takeover approach from arch-rival Veolia, said on Sunday it has received an alternative proposal from investment firms Ardian and Global Infrastructure Partners that could lead to a bid.
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“This makes 2020 the fourth highest annual total of all time, despite falling 47 per cent in value from the record high achieved [in 2019] with Saudi Aramco’s agreement to buy a stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp for $69.1bn,” Refinitiv’s
2020 Mena Investment Banking Review showed.
The biggest merger deal last year was the $15.6bn merger between Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group. The second-biggest was the $10.1bn sale of a 49 per cent stake in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s gas pipeline network to a group of investors including Singaporean wealth fund GIC, Global Infrastructure Partners and Brookfield Asset Management.