Bertrand Camus, the chief executive of Suez, said Veolia’s bid was “particularly hostile”The chief executive of Suez has called a takeover bid by Veolia, the water and waste management group’s French rival, “particularly hostile”. Bertrand Camus responded after Antoine Frérot, his counterpart at Veolia, said that he wanted to buy Suez to create what he claims will be a “world super champion” in the water and waste markets. Mr Frérot, 62, has invited Mr Camus for talks about a two-stage plan that initially would involve paying €2.9 billion to buy a 29.9 per cent stake in Suez from Engie, the energy group. The second phase, in a year or two, would involve Veolia acquiring the rest of Suez’s capital. Veolia says the tie-up would produce €500 million in synergies and a group with annual sales of

Source: The Times September 03, 2020 23:06 UTC