French financial markets watchdog AMF stated on Friday, April 2, that water and waste company Suez’s attempts to fight Veolia’s offer breach takeover rules, reported Reuters.
In an effort to force Veolia to negotiate, the Suez board has set up a Dutch foundation to prevent the sale of French water assets that its rival would need to divest to win antitrust approval to buy Suez.
Suez also proposed last month to negotiate a takeover if the two companies agreed on the sale of most of Suez’s French assets to investment funds Ardian and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). Veolia had rejected the proposal.
“The search for a negotiated resolution between the parties is entirely legitimate, but it must respect the principles of transparency and integrity of the market, fairness in transactions and competition, and the free play of offers and higher bids,” AMF said in a statement.
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