The “Go SUEZ 2022” employee shareholding plan, which was designed by the Group’s key shareholders – Meridiam, GIP, Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurances – to create a strong link between the employees and the development and performance of the company, has been an outstanding success.
12,000 employees equivalent to 40% of eligible employees have subscribed to the plan, representing the highest ever participation rate recorded for an employee shareholding plan at SUEZ.
Employees from nine countries have participated in this worldwide shareholding plan: the Czech Republic, France, Hong Kong, India, Macao, Morocco, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
For the first time ever, international participation rates have exceeded those of France, with a participation rate of over 59%, driven by India and Morocco which have both recorded a subscription rate above 80%.
The employee share issue, which was launched on September 27, 2022, is in line with the commitment made in June 2021 by the Group’s shareholders to establish an employee shareholding initially representing 3% of SUEZ’s capital and then increasing to 10% within five to seven years.
Total employee subscriptions have exceeded €140 million, significantly higher than the targeted budget of €118.4m, which was equivalent to 3% of the share capital at the time of the launch of the employee shareholding plan*.
As such, the plan represents the largest transaction by amount invested in a non-listed company via a mutual fund (“Fonds Commun de Placement d’Entreprise”). It is also a unique reference in France as the only employee shareholding plan in a non-listed company to implement a formula using leverage. Thanks to a bank loan, such a formula provides employees with a levered exposure to the increase in Suez share price compared to their personal investment, while benefiting from a guarantee of their capital**.
*During the subscription period, the acquisitions of EnviroServ, IWS France and R&R UK led to other capital issues.
** As Suez is a non-listed company, an annual valuation will be performed to determine the value of the share.
