On Monday, the two companies signed a merger deal worth nearly 13 billion euros ($15.44 billion) after months of wrangling between the two French waste and water management companies. In Courbevoie, which is near the capital Paris, Suez’ logo is a prominent facade at its office building at La Defense. Bitter rivals since the 19th century, they have now agreed to fight off Chinese competition.
The ‘smaller’ Suez was pursued by the ‘larger’ Veolia and together they are seen to face-off new rivals in China. Suez is now valued at $24.4 per share from its former price of $18 per share. CEO and Chairman Antoine Frerot has said that “the time for confrontation is over” and both companies have witnessed an increase in share prices, the former climbing 7.8% and the latter 9% by the early afternoon. Frerot also mentioned that this was a historical event since it would allow them to build up ecological capacity and innovation.
The new Suez entity will showcase a complete change of environment and prove to be a “global champion in ecological transformation” by highlighting the need for mixed teams in both offices and headquarters, incorporation of their
Source: Reuters
