Suez SA said he still views the rival utility Veolia Environmental SA's approach to the occupation as hostile and downplayed hopes that the recent talks could pave the way for friendly relations between the two French giants.
"This proposal, especially the first
step in buying a 29.9% stake in Suez from Angie, is still adversarial,"
Suez chairman Philippe Varin wrote in a letter to Veolia CEO Antoine Frerot-Waldner
on October 4. Written
The proposed purchase at stake of $ 3.4
billion will be an opening gab only for Veolia, which wants to acquire the
entire water company and become a global environmental services company. The
intentions have raised concerns in the French government, which owns 24 Eng SA
and has said no deal should be’ rushed.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire
told reporters in a telephone briefing on Sunday that an agreement between Suez
and Veolia was still possible.
"The government urges both sides to
resume talks in the near future to reach a friendly offer," Lee Meyer
said, "the only solution that can protect the interests of employees and
the country."
Private equity firm Arden SAS is also
working on an offer for Angie Stack, backed by Switzerland. Ardian’s teams are
working on a "signal" offer over the weekend that will be ready in
the coming days, Le Journal du Dimanche reported on Sunday, quoting Matthias Burghardt,
head of Ardian’s infrastructure. The newspaper added that it would take another
six weeks for the firm to come up with a fixed price.
An Angie spokesman said Sunday that the
company still intends to decide whether to hold its Suez by the September 5
deadline.
Veolia, which raised its bid from 15.5
euros to 18 euros on September 30, said earlier on Sunday that it had
"unconditionally" pledged not to start a rival takeover bid for Suez
after the stake was’ staked. Is. He described his talks with Suez Management as
"constructive" and said he was guaranteeing that they would not take
hostile action, which the NGB board had demanded was made’ possible.
In a separate statement on Sunday, Suez
described Veolia’s press release as "misleading" and said talks
between the two companies had failed. In his letter to Ferrero- Varin, Warren said
Suez "showed goodwill and worked hard to find a solution that was acceptable
to everyone," but Veolia’s proposal fell short.
As reported by the French daily Le Figaro
on Saturday, Verne met on Thursday with Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, CEO of Veolia
and chairman of Angie. Warren also told Le Figaro on Saturday that the
situation with Veolia had "changed" and that they were working to see
if the occupation plan could be "acceptable".
The Journal du Dimanche also said on
Sunday that Angie was inclined to accept Claudio Dao's offer of a sweet 18-euro
share of the Suez.
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