It is open warfare between Veolia and Suez, the two French energy giants. Despite the repeated No from the Suez board to a potential marriage, Veolia has decided to force the hand, depositing a hostile offer over its competitor equal to 7,9 billion in cash. the proposed price is 18 euros per share, with a 75% premium on the closing price on 30 July, the date on which Veolia's operations began to complete its plan. Indeed, it should be recalled that last October the multinational led by Antoine Frérot had already purchased a 29,9% stake in Suez from Engie and the offer that therefore the offer filed today refers to the remaining 70,1 percent.
“In the interest of competition, I'm more than ever willing to argue with the Suez management the perimeter to be strengthened around Suez Eau France, which we could sell - said Frérot, CEO of Veolia - I am convinced that this clarification will further increase the chances of reaching a satisfactory agreement for all".
“Veolia's announcement constitutes a new serious irregularity, as well as a contempt for the French state which has tried to promote an amicable solution, better for shareholders, employees and all interested parties”, Suez replied in a statement, also stating that going ahead with the offer “would be unacceptable from an ethical point of view".
The affair caused quite a stir in France, so much so that the Minister of the Economy intervened directly on the matter Bruno Le Maire which announced that it will contact the AMF (the French Consob), asking it to take care of the dossier: “Veolia's offer is not friendly and contravenes the commitments undertaken on several occasions by Veolia. The operation also poses a transparency problem. Why was the offer suddenly filed? So starting today we will contact the AMF”, declared the minister.
Suez has addressed the Tribunal since yesterday evening of the Commerce of Nanterre, which met in the night. Through an order, the magistrates ordered Veolia to suspend the launch of the operation, pending a debate on the merits of its previous amicable settlement commitments. However, the group decided to go ahead and on the morning of 8 February it formally deposited its offer, which therefore, in the light of the ordinance, remains provisionally suspended.
Suez, for its part, at the request of the magistrates, will soon have to file a summons against Veolia in view of a first hearing scheduled for February 18th. The entire procedure could take anywhere from one to three months.
The news arrived today is the umpteenth chapter of a saga that began months ago. In mid-January, Suez had tried to resist the Veolia court, announcing that it had received an alternative offer from the Ardian and Gip funds and asking Veolia to initiate a dialogue. Her request returned to the sender by the latter. The number one of Veolia, Antoine Frerot and the CEO of Suez, Bertrand Camus, met last Friday, but the positions of the two companies remained irreconcilable, between the merger project proposed by the first and the maintenance of the two independent groups declared by the other.
In this context, the titles of both companies do not seem to be affected too much by the current clash: on the Paris Stock Exchange both shares lose 0,9%.
