Veolia’s takeover bid for Suez: an investigation into suspicions of influence peddling carried out by the PNF – archyde

The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) has been investigating since June 18 a possible influence peddling around Veolia’s takeover bid (takeover bid) for Suez, suspecting in particular the secretary general of the Elysee, Alexis Kohler, and officials from Veolia and Engie, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned from a judicial source on Friday, October 29.

The plaintiffs – who represent the majority of the inter-union of the Suez group – denounced “The intervention of the Elysee Palace well in advance of the public announcement of the project” merger between the two companies specializing in water and waste, then the “Regular and repeated pressure to achieve” reconciliation.

“Direct intervention” and “decisive” documents

In their complaint, filed on April 22 with the PNF, the unions suspected Mr. Kohler, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Veolia, Antoine Frérot, the chairman of the board of directors of Engie, Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, and the CEO of the Meridiam fund, Thierry Déau, for having agreed on the merger of the two entities. The unions mentioned, in their complaint, several meetings “Involving the government”, in an agreement with Meridiam “Before the announcement of the project”, of “The intervention at different levels of many actors close to power (…) but above all the direct intervention of Alexis Kohler in October 2020 with union representatives ” to obtain, during the Board of Directors of Engie, that Veolia repurchases the shares (29.9%) held by Suez.

In May, a month after the complaint, the Union Syndicale (CGT-CFDT-CFTC) of Suez, claiming 65% of the group’s representativeness, had “Decided to give formal notice to the companies Veolia, Engie, Meridiam and Suez not to destroy or alter the documents seized on November 26, 2020 and currently in receivership”. They worried that they would disappear ” these documents [qui] could turn out to be decisive evidence allowing to identify with more precision the role of each of the actors having been involved ” in the redemption.

On the evening of August 30, 2020, Antoine Frérot, CEO of the world’s number one water and waste company, launched the industrial and financial soap opera of the year in France by presenting to the press his grand design, the acquisition of the rival of always. In early October 2020, Veolia bought 29.9% of Suez from Engie, before launching a takeover bid on the rest of the shares, to the chagrin of its beleaguered rival.

But after more than seven months of tough negotiations, the leaders of Veolia and Suez finally agreed in mid-May for the former to absorb a large part of the latter and form a “Champion” of water and waste weighing 37 billion euros. At the end of July, Veolia launched a takeover bid for the remaining 70.1%. The case should, according to the parties, be settled in the coming months, giving birth to a reinforced Veolia and one in Suez reduced to 40% of the current group.