The European Commission has approved the acquisition of Suez by Veolia. For Veolia, this is a decisive step in the creation of a global champion of ecological transformation, as the green light from the European Commission is a key factor in the realization of Veolia's industrial project.
Veolia has worked closely with the European Commission to address all its competition concerns:
- The commercial agreement reached between Veolia and the Consortium to create the new Suez has identified assets that remove most of the competition concerns identified by the European Commission. This commercial agreement signed with the Consortium of investors consisting of Meridiam, GIP and La Caisse des Dépôts/CNP Assurances, is documented by the combination agreement signed between Veolia and Suez in April 2021 and the purchase agreement of October 22, 2021. As a reminder, the new Suez would have revenues of nearly €7 billion, including Suez's Water and Recycling & Recovery activities in France, international assets in Italy, Central Europe, Africa (including Morocco), Central Asia, India, China and Australia, as well as global digital and environmental activities.
- In order to meet the requirements of the European Commission in certain other markets, the Group has also granted some additional remedies in the sectors of industrial water, mobile solutions and special industrial waste.
With the sole condition precedent of the tender offer at a price of €19.85 per Suez share (coupon attached) 1 now fulfilled, the combination between Veolia and Suez is entering its final phase, with the closing date of the takeover bid set by the French Competition Authority AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers) on January 7, 2022.
Antoine Frérot, Chairman and CEO of Veolia, said: "I am delighted with this decision, which confirms the strength and the relevance of our industrial project and its ability to meet the challenges of the global climate and environmental crisis. This step opens the final phase of the merger, which is only a matter of weeks away. I am very much committed to ensure that it takes place under the best possible conditions for all our stakeholders and I will make sure that all our social commitments are respected throughout this process.”
The proposed merger has already received 15 out of 18 approvals from the main competition authorities 2, with the examination still underway by the competition authorities in Chile, the United Kingdom and Australia.
