Suez Says Court Ruling Confirms Suspension of Effects of Veolia Stake Purchase
November 19 2020 - 08:23AM
Dow Jones News
By Joshua Kirby
Suez SA said Thursday that it hasn't received the necessary
information to complete an employee consultation that would
unfreeze a court-ordered suspension of the effects of the purchase
of a stake in the company by Veolia Environnement SA.
The French waste-management company said that a court ruling
confirmed Thursday that the effects of Veolia's purchase of a 29.9%
stake in Suez's share capital remained suspended pending the
completion of an employee consultation.
The Paris Court of Appeal confirmed an earlier ruling that said
Suez employees had a right to be informed and consulted regarding
the deal. Veolia bought the stake from energy company Engie SA.
Since no consultation had been carried out before the deal was
finalized on Oct. 5, the effects of the sale remain suspended until
the consultation had been completed, according to the ruling, Suez
said.
"At this stage, Suez management still has not received from
either Engie or Veolia all the necessary elements to respond
precisely to employees' legitimate concerns regarding their
future," the company said.
Earlier on Thursday, Veolia said in a statement that it would
recover all rights in Suez resulting from the purchase by February
5 at the latest, three months after a date when, according to
Veolia, Suez announced the beginning of the consultation.
Suez contests that Veolia will recover its rights on that date,
and argues that the starting date for the consultation hasn't been
fixed.
Suez has characterized Veolia's purchase of a stake in the
company and its stated plans for a full takeover as hostile.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@dowjones.com;
@joshualeokirby
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 19, 2020 08:08 ET (13:08 GMT)
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