(AOF) – An error slipped into the first sentence of our dispatch on Veolia and Séché Environnement. The corrected text follows.
Veolia and Séché Environnement have announced the signing of a unilateral purchase agreement under which the latter undertakes to acquire the former’s activities in industrial water treatment services in France, which constitute the last part of the remedies antitrust required by the European Commission in terms of competition in the context of the merger between Veolia and Suez. The amount of the sale of the transferred assets amounts to approximately 40 million euros and will be financed from Séché Environnement’s available cash.
The assets sold include a portfolio of contracts entered into with manufacturers, representing annual revenue of around €60 million for an EBITDA of around €4 million. These contracts include all of the businesses in the industrial water cycle (in particular effluent treatment, supply of process water, facility management – including waste management – and maintenance operations), allowing to offer industrialists high value-added services in terms of delegated management of the water cycle.
“This agreement marks the implementation of the last part of the disposals requested by the European Commission within the framework of the merger with Suez. The total amount of the disposals in progress amounts to approximately 920 million euros,” said Claude Laruelle, Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Veolia.
The operation will be carried out in compliance with the social commitments made by Veolia and fully confirmed by Séché Environnement. These include guaranteed employment and continued benefits for a period of 4 years.
It is subject to consultation with Veolia employee representative bodies, as well as obtaining the necessary regulatory authorizations.