Veolia sells Vigie’s UK waste business to Suez

PARIS, September 21 (Reuters) – Veolia announced on Wednesday the sale to Suez of the British waste activities of Vigie (formerly Suez SA) and the signing of a unilateral purchase agreement by which Suez undertakes to acquire 100% of Suez Recycling and Recovery UK for an amount of two billion pounds (2.29 billion euros).

This sale follows the exercise by Suez of its right of first refusal after the announcement on August 8 by Veolia of an agreement to sell Vigie’s waste activities in the United Kingdom to Macquarie, specifies a press release from the French group.

This transfer should allow it to respond to the main concerns expressed by the British competition authority (CMA) in the context of the takeover of Suez.

At the end of 2021, London announced the opening of an in-depth investigation into the impact in Great Britain of the proposed merger between Suez and Veolia.

The CMA, which will have to approve the sale announced on Wednesday, estimated in December 2021 that the merger of the two groups was likely to distort competition in the water supply and waste management market in Great Britain. and therefore to increase the financial burden for the municipalities.

Veolia will have carried out a total of approximately 3.4 billion euros in disposals to respond to competition concerns as part of its merger with Suez. (Written by Nicolas Delame, edited by Marc Angrand)