⁍ Veolia VIE.PA said it would not launch a hostile bid for the remaining shares in Suez.
⁍ Veolia had moved closer to a deal to buy Engie’s 29.9% stake in Suez.
⁍ French state, which has a 24% stake in Engie, is closely monitoring the situation.
– French utility Veolia has agreed to buy Engie’s 29.9% stake in Suez in a deal worth about $5.8 billion, ending a weeks-long battle for control of the company. Veolia said it would not launch a hostile bid for the remaining shares in Suez and that any bid for the rest of the shares would require approval from Suez’s board, Reuters reports. Veolia had moved closer to a deal to buy Engie’s 29.9% stake in Suez on Wednesday, in a prelude to a full takeover bid and marking a breakthrough after weeks of hostilities between the two utilities. Veolia had removed certain conditions and clauses from the previous outline of its agreement with Engie to persuade the different parties that it would seek a consensual deal. But in a letter from Suez Chairman Philippe Varin to Veolia’s boss, which was made public, Varin said the Suez board considered Veolia’s approach as hostile. The French state, which has a 24% stake in Engie, is closely monitoring the situation. In a hastily arranged call with reporters on Sunday, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called on Veolia and Suez to resume talks to reach an agreement. ‘Some progress was made yesterday and this morning in the talks between Suez and Veolia,’ he said. ‘We wish that Veolia and Suez find common ground … which is the only way to preserve the workers’ interests as well as the industrial interests of the nation.’
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/suez-ma-veolia/update-3-suez-rebuffs-veolias-assurances-it-will-not-make-hostile-bid-idUSL8N2GV0NG