Veolia and Suez Environnement Discussed Merger

Date: October 23, 2012

Source: News Room

The world's two largest water and waste utilities companies, Veolia Environnement SA and Suez Environnement SA, explored a merger that would have created an industry giant with $58.6 billion in combined revenue. According to the Wall Street Journal, talks between the two, which have been ongoing since August, broke down about two weeks ago. Both companies subsequently released statements denying any current discussions. The WSJ said sources indicated that Suez made the initial approach to Veolia. Other WSJ sources said the deal would have been hard to pull off due to antitrust issues. Moreover, job losses related to any required divestitures would have been politically unfavorable, especially in France where both companies have a huge presence. WSJ said that exploration of the merger underscored the pressure on water and waste companies increase profit amid a sagging economy.

To view the article, visit: online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444868204578068822355547746.html.

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