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 water management company Suez SA on Sunday received an acquisition offer from investment firms Ardian SAS and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) as it fights off a bid from archrival Veolia Environment SA.
Months of acrimonious wrangling between the two massive French companies have seen Veolia maneuver to become Suez’s main shareholder after purchasing a 29.9 percent stake.
However, Ardian is now offering 18 euros per share matching another earlier Veolia offer that valued the whole company at 11.3 billion euros (US$13.64 billion).
Suez’s board of directors said it had received a “letter of intent from Ardian and GIP, aiming to allow
(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.