French Utility Veolia To Sell Suez UK For €2.4B Over Antitrust Concerns

French utility company Veolia confirmed it would sell Suez’s UK waste business to Australia’s Macquarie Group for around 2.4 billion euros ($2.4 billion), a deal aimed at resolving antitrust concerns.

Earlier, Veolia said that it was proposing to sell off its former rival, Suez’s UK waste business, after Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) raised objections to the Veolia/Suez combination.

“Following this transaction, Veolia will remain a major player in the waste sector in the United Kingdom and, more broadly, in the environmental services market in the region, which remains strategic for the group,” said Veolia chief executive Estelle Brachlianoff.

During a conference call, Brachlianoff said she was “very confident” over obtaining all the regulatory approvals regarding the deal, adding it should be finalised by the end of the year.

She also said a small asset sale in the industrial water business was still needed in Britain.

“After the disposal of the remedies agreed with the European Commission and the signature of the agreement with Macquarie Asset Management, almost all of the antitrust divestitures will have been finalised less than a year after the acquisition of Suez,” the company added.

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