Regulatory News:
Today, the management of Suez has tried in vain to create uncertainty where none exists: Veolia (Paris:VIE) will not sell or exchange its 29.9% stake in the capital of Suez. The tender offer filed by Veolia is still irrevocable even after the activation of the Dutch entity, and is the only offer for the entire capital of Suez. The proposal made by Veolia about 10 days ago to guarantee the integrity of Suez in France in the event of a prior agreement shows that Veolia is making every possible effort to ensure that the new Suez is of a size that enables it to develop, including outside France, while, thanks to the mission-led company Meridiam, guaranteeing the stability of its shareholder base for 25 years, preserving all jobs and social benefits, maintaining genuine and robust competition, and doubling investments in the next 5 to 7 years.
There cannot be any discussions with the management of Suez:
until the Board of Directors of Suez has formally agreed to the scope of the new Suez proposed by Veolia
until the Dutch entity, which is seriously undermining the corporate interests and value of Suez, has been dissolved
until the rushed sales of Suez's strategic international assets have been suspended
until the legal proceedings launched by Suez have been withdrawn.
Furthermore, Veolia notes an evident conflict of interest in the Suez press release, that is both surprising and shocking: the approach taken by the directors of Suez is to promote their own personal and property interests by offering the company's assets to two short-termist funds to choose from à la carte. This is clearly contrary to the corporate interest of the group and of its shareholders, who still have nothing but an offer that is illusory when compared to that of Veolia.
It will of course be for Suez shareholders to decide on these various matters involving the group's future, and for the courts to rule on the individual responsibility of the directors concerned.
Veolia groupis the global leader in optimized resource management. With nearly 179,000 employees worldwide, the Group designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions which contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and to replenish them.
In 2019, the Veolia group supplied 98 million people with drinking water and 67 million people with wastewater service, produced nearly 45 million megawatt hours of energy and treated 50 million metric tons of waste. Veolia Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated revenue of €27.189 billion in 2019 (USD 29.9 billion). www.veolia.com
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210321005022/en/
Contacts:
Veolia Group Media Relations
Laurent Obadia Sophie Gaucher
Tel.+ 33 6 79 42 12 06
sophie.gaucher@veolia.com
Analysts Investors
Ronald Wasylec Ariane de Lamaze
Tel. 33 1 85 57 84 76 84 80
