Le plan de Franprix pour conquérir les banlieues
Après avoir quadrillé la capitale, le champion des supérettes parisiennes, qui appartient au groupe Casino, veut ouvrir d'ici deux ans 150 magasins dans les banlieues de Paris et Lyon. Challenges a rencontré sa directrice générale, Cécile Guillou, lors d'un reportage à Andrésy, dans les Yvelines, où Franprix vient de rénover le magasin historique, et d'y dévoiler des nouveautés.
La ville d'Andrésy, dans les Yvelines, n'était pas encore confinée quand nous nous y sommes rendus, le 17 mars, pour rencontrer Cécile Guillou. Mais la directrice générale de Franprix se préparait au pire, à deux jours de la prise de parole de Jean Castex. La suite lui a donné raison. Qu'à cela ne tienne, après plus d'un an de crise permanente, la patronne optimiste et dynamique a décidé que Franprix -dont les magasins sont toujours autorisés à ouvrir- devait avancer. A l'automne, elle a élaboré avec ses équipes et son président Jean-Paul Mochet une nouvelle stratégie. "C'est une vraie réussite de Cécile de nous avoir reprojetés vers l'avant", se félicite François Alarcon, le directeur stratégie. "Cela a fait du bien à tout le monde." Et c'est justement pour nous présenter cette feuille de route que la dirigeante de 39 ans nous a donné rendez-vous à Andrésy, à 25 kilomètres au Nord-Ouest de Paris.
Un nouveau magasin
Là, à 15 minutes à pieds de la gare Conflans-Fin-d'Oise, se trouve un Franprix fraîchement rénové, en plein coeur de ville, entouré de pharmacies, magasin Picard et autres agences immobilières. Devant la devanture, l'habituelle gamelle pour chiens que met à disposition l'enseigne urbaine du groupe Casino, est désormais accompagnée d'une pompe à vélo en libre-service. En poussant la porte, les effluves du pain cuit sur place se mêlent à celle du stand de plats chauds à composer soi-même, situé sur la droite. A côté de la traditionnelle machine à jus d'orange, signe distinctif des magasins Franprix, une machine à jus de pommes est testée, avec, en option, des bouteilles en verre consignées. Juste derrière, le stand fruits et légumes et ses pommes bios empaquetées dans une boîte en carton témoignent d'un effort de réduction des emballages. Mais c'est le large rayon vrac qui surprend le plus le visiteur. Pâtes Panzani, biscuits apéritifs Ancel, céréales Kellog's, blé Ebly... Une flopée de grandes marques a enfin décidé de faire fi de son packaging pour jouer le jeu du "zéro déchet".
La visite se termine par un espace étonnant, pour cette supérette alimentaire. Dans un recoin, deux corners Hema et Decathlon permettent de trouver les indispensables non-alimentaires d'une vie confinée: papeterie, feutres, accessoires de running ou encore tapis de yoga (la meilleure vente du rayon Decathlon). Au total, le partenariat avec Hema concerne déjà 254 magasins, celui avec Decathlon, 22 points de vente.
Cap sur la banlieue
Six ans après avoir initié une montée en gamme, et lancé son nouveau concept Mandarine, qui faisait la part belle aux services et à l'innovation, Franprix entame un nouveau chapitre de son histoire. La grande majorité de ses 874 magasins ont été rénovés. Parmi eux, 334 se trouvent à Paris, 450 en Ile-de-France hors de Paris, et 90 hors Ile-de-France, surtout à Lyon, Marseille, et en région PACA. Cécile Guillou vise à présent de nouveaux "territoires de conquête". Comprendre, la grande banlieue parisienne et lyonnaise. "Nous avons 334 magasins à Paris, pour 2 millions d'habitants, contre 450 magasins en Ile-de-France pour 10 millions d'habitants", pointe François Alarcon. "C'est la région de France la plus dynamique, qui pèse 31% du PIB."
Le directeur de la stratégie a étudié la question en profondeur et il le prouve par A+B: de nombreux signaux sont au vert pour partir à l'assaut de la grande couronne. Depuis plusieurs années, selon l'INSEE, Paris intra-muros perd 11.000 habitants par an lorsque l’Ile-de-France en gagne 55.000. En France, pointe François Aarcon, 9 personnes sur 10 vivent dans ce que l’INSEE appelle "l’aire d’attraction d’une ville". Or, avec 13 millions d’habitants, l’aire d’attraction de Paris concentre, à elle seule, près d'un habitant sur 5. Et ce n'est pas près de s'arrêter. Les programmes neufs poussent comme des champignons dans les banlieues. La loi Grand Paris adoptée en 2010 fixe l’objectif de "construire chaque année 70.000 logements en Île-de-France". Au même moment, les travaux du Grand Paris express raccordent à la capitale des villes jusque là mal desservies.
Objectif: 150 magasins en deux ans
Conséquence? D'ici deux ans, Franprix prévoit 150 ouvertures de magasins dans les agglomérations de Paris et Lyon. Mais hors de question de dupliquer 150 fois le modèle d'Andrésy. Ce dernier a ouvert un corner Decathlon car il n'y avait pas de magasin sportif dans les environs? D'autres ne choisiront pas cette option. "Les 150 points de vente afficheront la même enseigne, mais pas forcément la même offre", prévient Cécile Guillou. "Notre métier est d'être proche des gens, géographiquement et d'un point de vue affinitaire." A Andrésy, "les clients étaient ravis et surpris de la rénovation, ils ont dit: oh un magasin comme à Paris!", se félicite Eric Demange, propriétaire du magasin. Sa femme et lui sont franchisés Franprix depuis des années. Comme eux, plus d'une centaine d'entrepreneurs doivent aider Franprix dans sa conquête: 90% des ouvertures prévues doivent se faire en franchise. Un modèle qui permet d'allier la puissance d'un grand groupe, à la proximité client des enseignes coopératives. En outre, la franchise reste un modèle où les coûts et les risques pour le distributeur restent plus limités. Dans la situation financière du groupe Casino ce n'est pas neutre.
"Franprix a été créé par des franchisés qui se sont intéressés au centre-ville quand personne ne s'y intéressait", rappelle Cécile Guillou. "Historiquement, c'est une enseigne de proximité, et la franchise est dans son ADN." Le track-record de Franprix, une enseigne située sur le segment porteur de la proximité, et dont les ventes comparables ont bondi de 7,1% en 2020, attire déjà les franchisés déçus du textile ou de la restauration. Reste qu'à Paris, l'équation financière de Franprix reposait sur des tarifs élevés, souvent comparés à ceux de sa soeur Monoprix, compatibles avec le pouvoir d'achat de la clientèle locale. Impossible d'imposer les mêmes prix de l'autre côté du périphérique. "Nous avons sept niveaux de prix différents", rassure Cécile Guillou, qui rappelle que le franchisé est libre de les fixer, et qu'avec un petit magasin de banlieue, il peut espérer un chiffre d'affaires d'environ 2,5 millions d'euros.
Multiplier les ventes en ligne par 10
Et Paris? "Nous n'arrêtons pas l'expansion à Paris", rétorque Cécile Guillou. "Nous y ouvrons quatre ou cinq magasins cette année. Mais l'objectif à présent, c'est une très nette accélération en banlieue." La dirigeante a d'autres objectifs en tête. Elle veut continuer la chasse au plastique, augmenter la part du bio de 9% à 20% dans son chiffre d'affaires en deux ans, et doper les ventes en ligne, bien sûr. "L'idée est de coller à la stratégie magasin, et de proposer du e-commerce de proximité", explique la diplômée d'HEC. Sur l'appli Franprix, les clients peuvent choisir parmi 5.500 références en moyenne. Leur commande, préparée par le magasin, constitue souvent des courses de dépannage, pour un repas du soir par exemple. Depuis un an, l'enseigne est aussi partenaire de la foodtech Deliveroo. Près de 100 magasins proposent la livraison en 30 minutes d'un échantillon de 800 à 1.000 références. Pour l'ancienne consultante de McKinsey, l'objectif est clair: multiplier les ventes en ligne par 10 d'ici deux ans. Dans le monde d'avant, la feuille de route aurait semblé irréaliste. Mais après quinze mois de crise sanitaire, et une explosion des achats de produits de grande consommation en ligne de 42% en 2020, selon la Fevad, Cécile Guillou pourrait bien réussir son pari.
Exclusive look inside the US supersonic presidential jet
(CNN) — The news broke last September that a California start-up was working with the US Air Force on developing a supersonic plane which could be used as Air Force One.
Exosonic was handed a contract by the Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate (PE) after impressing the military with its concept for a low-boom supersonic Mach 1.8 twinjet.
Now CNN Travel has had an exclusive look inside the cabin interior of the executive transport plane designed to carry the US Executive Branch's distinguished visitors (DVs).
It's a 31-passenger derivative of Exosonic's 70-passenger commercial airliner concept and is the ultimate in business jets -- luxury leather, oak and quartz fittings, private suites for work and rest, and all at cruise times twice that of existing aircraft.
The functions of presidential craft varies according to need, but this plane might primarily be used as Air Force Two, which is the call sign for jets carrying the US vice president.
New technologies
"With this concept we are planning to implement new technologies that are not available today or that you don't (yet) see on commercial or business aircraft," says Stephanie Chahan, Exosonic's principal aircraft interior designer, as she leads CNN on a virtual walk-through.
The first of two private suites is the three-passenger meeting room, with secure video teleconferencing so distinguished visitors can work, go online, or address the press.
The rotatable seats are leather with wooden shells and the video monitor is capable of being stored in a rolled position so there is space on the credenza sideboard for food platters or presentation equipment.
"So whether they're flying the vice president or the first lady, or the first gentleman, we'd have a lot of flexibility here," says Chahan.
Low-booom supersonic flight
The second eight-passenger suite has lie-flat seats and adjustable table heights and it's where senior staffers can work collaboratively and rest.
Then there's the main cabin with 20 business-class seats, plus two galleys, two lavatories and plenty of stowage space.
Following the trend in modern aircraft design, the seatbacks have spaces for holding personal electronic devices rather than traditional seat-back monitors.
"The cabin design was inspired by the US Executive Branch and its mission and values, as well as the peregrine falcon, renowned for its speed -- both by its movement and by its beautiful look," says Chahan.
Exosonic's plane boasts a 5,000-nautical-mile range and, thanks to boom-softening techniques, it should be able to fly overland at almost twice the speed of sound without upsetting residents down below.
"The future for global rapid passenger travel is low-boom supersonic flight," says Exosonic's CEO, Norris Tie. "Low boom allows travelers to fly at supersonic speeds without generating disruptive booms for those on the ground."
Mach 1.8 is around 1,381 miles per hour (2,222 kilometers), which is more than twice the typical cruising speed of a long-distance commercial craft.
Tie tells CNN that the company expects its supersonic plane to be flying by the mid-2030s.
Facebook Staff Fret Over China’s Ads Portraying Happy Muslims in Xinjiang
Workers express concerns internally about advertisements and content by Beijing promoting message that mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in the region are thriving
HONG KONG— Facebook Inc. FB 1.40% is blocked in China, but Beijing is a big user of the platform to spread its political views to hundreds of millions of people overseas, sometimes via advertisements.
Now, some Facebook staff are raising concerns on internal message boards and in other employee discussions that the company is being used as a conduit for state propaganda, highlighting sponsored posts from Chinese organizations that purport to show Muslim ethnic minority Uyghurs thriving in China’s Xinjiang region, according to people familiar with the matter.
The U.S. and some European governments say Beijing is committing genocide against the Uyghurs, citing a campaign that includes political indoctrination, mass internment and forced sterilizations.
Facebook hasn’t determined whether to act on the concerns, say people familiar with the matter. The company is watching how international organizations such as the United Nations respond to the situation in Xinjiang, one of the people said. The U.N. this week called on firms conducting Xinjiang-linked business to undertake “meaningful human rights due diligence” on their operations.
A Facebook spokesman said that the ads taken out by Beijing pertaining to Xinjiang don’t violate current policies so long as the advertisers follow Facebook’s rules when purchasing them. He said the company is monitoring reports of the situation in Xinjiang “to help inform our approach and due diligence on this issue.”
Beijing has denied any human-rights violations in Xinjiang and contends its actions are necessary to quell terrorist threats in a restive region.
One Facebook employee posted this year in the social-media giant’s internal group for Muslim staff, called Muslim@, to point out that the U.S. government had declared Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs a genocide, and that Twitter Inc. had taken action against the account of China’s U.S. Embassy for a tweet about Uyghurs that violated its policies.
“It’s time our platform takes action to fight misinformation on the Uighur genocide,” the employee wrote in the post, which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The employee described it as a “plea to our leadership.”
The post tagged Chris Cox, Facebook’s chief product officer and a top lieutenant to Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg. “Thanks for looping me in,” Mr. Cox responded. “This is incredibly serious. Let me check with our integrity teams for a status update and circle back personally or with the right POC,” or point of contact, he said.
A Chinese government spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment on its Facebook activities or policies in Xinjiang. Beijing has previously denied all allegations of human-rights violations in Xinjiang, instead describing the vast network of camps as vocational training centers aimed at countering terrorism and religious extremism.
While the dollars spent by Beijing are small, Facebook’s deliberations raise the prospect that the company could restrict the government of the world’s most populous country from taking out such advertisements on the platform.
The advertisements and posts by the Chinese government and state media include videos of people in Xinjiang, including some children, proclaiming to the camera that their lives are improving and that Western nations are engaging in a plot to try to destabilize China.
Facebook staff have also internally discussed their unease with what they call Beijing’s misinformation and the potential perception that Facebook is allowing a means for China to spread propaganda relating to humanitarian issues.
Facebook typically removes Beijing’s Xinjiang-related ads within a few days, if internal reviews show they are not properly labeled as pertaining to social and political issues. Advertisers are required, when taking out ads, to indicate in Facebook’s ad-purchasing interface when they cover such topics.
When those rules are followed, ads are then displayed with the name of the entity that paid for them. If not, users see them without that information. China’s Xinjiang-related ads frequently don’t follow Facebook’s rules, but are often viewed tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of times, and sometimes more, before Facebook removes them.
The internal concerns are the latest to surface at Facebook, showing how the company is grappling with difficult decisions globally as it tries to police material on its platform. Facebook in the U.S. has been criticized for banning some material and people, such as former President Donald Trump.
Facebook last week said it was removing a network of China-based hacking accounts used to spread malware meant to spy on journalists and dissidents among overseas Uyghur Muslims. Facebook didn’t attribute the attack to the Chinese government.
The Journal on Tuesday reported that Xinjiang-related activity by Chinese state media and diplomats on Facebook and Twitter hit a new high last year, according to new research, as Beijing defended its policies in the region.
Although Facebook has been blocked in China since 2009, its revenue from advertisers in the country may exceed $5 billion a year, according to some research-firm analysts who study digital advertising. That would make it the company’s largest revenue source after the U.S. Facebook doesn’t break out revenue by country.
Taking action against state-controlled media outlets on Facebook presents a quandary for the company, some of those analysts say. The ads may contain content that Facebook staff are uncomfortable with, but introducing policies to tackle them would amount to deciding what governments are allowed to broadcast on the platform.
Government officials and bodies in countries such as Vietnam, Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia use Facebook to broadcast their views.
China’s state-controlled media outlets run three of the world’s top 20 most-followed Facebook pages, according to online reference library DataReportal. Beijing’s international news channel, CGTN, has more than 115 million followers. That is the fourth-most in the world, surpassing the likes of Coca-Cola and pop star Rihanna.
China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency last month paid less than $100 for an ad promoting a video interview with the mayor of Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, in which he says that the “peace and stability that people from all ethnic groups in Xinjiang once longed for has become a reality.” He said a “plot” by Western countries to disrupt China’s internal affairs is “doomed to failure.”
In two days it was shown as many as 200,000 times, according to Facebook advertising data, before it was removed. Xinhua didn’t respond to a request for comment.
“These ads provide a vehicle for Beijing’s propaganda,” said a spokesman for New York-based human-rights group Avaaz, which has studied Xinjiang and the Chinese government’s Facebook advertising practices. “Even if the amounts aren’t huge, it’s a direct profit stream” for Facebook, he said. “That’s what’s particularly troubling.”
CGTN, a part of Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, last year paid more than $400 to promote a video featuring students in a Xinjiang boarding school, where some academic researchers say children of arrested or detained individuals are sometimes sent. In the video, children in interviews say they are happy to be in the facilities because they are eating nutritious food and receiving an education.
The ad was shown more than 1 million times over a four-day period to Facebook users in countries such as Pakistan, India and Bangladesh before it was removed.
Since March 28, CGTN started running at least 10 more ads related to Xinjiang, most of which have been removed.
Airlines raise debt at near-record pace at start of 2021
Carriers tapped bond markets for more than $16bn in first quarter in effort to bolster finances
Airlines tapped a wave of investor enthusiasm to raise more than $16bn from bond markets in the first quarter, shoring up their finances as travel disruption stretches into a second year.
The figures highlight how the world’s biggest carriers have been able to raise a wall of money to help them through a period of unprecedented turmoil, with a third of the world’s fleet of commercial aircraft still in storage as passenger numbers collapse.
They also underline investor confidence in the long-term prospects of the strongest companies in the sector, as Covid-19 vaccines offer a way to reopen travel once curbs on movement are eased in major economies.
Airlines raised $16.6bn in the first quarter of this year, according to data provider Dealogic, just short of the record $17.5bn set in the second quarter of 2020 as companies dashed for cash during the initial, frantic stages of the pandemic. Overall, airlines raised $42.6bn in the debt markets in 2020, the most on record.
The activity has proven a boon for investment banks, which made more than $200m in fees from airlines, a first-quarter record, Dealogic said.
Investors have been willing to lend to strong airlines that are expected to emerge from the crisis relatively unscathed, but benign market conditions have also helped carriers, said Josef Pospisil, head of utilities and transport at Fitch Ratings.
“I am not sure it would be exactly the same if it wasn't for the stimulus across the board,” he added.
In Europe, British Airways owner IAG and lower-cost rival easyJet raised €1.2bn each in separate bond issues that were oversubscribed.
The cash will help carriers to fortify their balance sheets at a time when there is still uncertainty over whether mass travel will be possible this summer.
“The simple answer is they are raising cash because they need it,” said Alex Paterson, an analyst at Peel Hunt.
Carriers have cut costs where they can over the past year, but are still left with significant staffing, leasing and maintenance overheads, and the global industry is forecast to burn through up to $95bn this year, according to the International Air Transport Association.
The near-term prospects for the industry look brightest in the US, where carriers have been bolstered by billions in taxpayer funds and a larger domestic market than in Europe. The US Transportation Security Administration reports that passenger numbers have exceeded 1m most days in March — half the roughly 2m travelling daily in 2019, but an improvement over January and February, let alone last year’s nadir below 100,000.
American Airlines launched an industry-record $10bn debt deal in March, which was made up of $6.5bn worth of junk bonds and $3.5bn in loans. Analysts calculate that the deal will give American, which estimates it will burn $30m in cash a day in the first quarter, about a year and a half of liquidity.
Investors have also moved into airline stocks.
MSCI’s global airlines index has risen 44 per cent since vaccine breakthroughs in November, although it is still down by a quarter since the end of 2019.
As well as hopes for the industry’s long-term recovery, companies have benefited from the “reopening trade”, as investors move into parts of the stock market that suffered during the pandemic’s immediate impact.
Short-haul and low-cost flying is expected to lead the industry’s revival, and investors have poured money into carriers such as Ryanair and Southwest Airlines, which are both approaching all-time highs.
Other players, such as IAG, Lufthansa and United Airlines, are expected to recover more slowly because they are reliant on business and long-haul trips.
Suez's response against Veolia breaks the rules, denounces the AMF
By Challenges.fr on 04/02/2021 at 2:49 p.m.
3 min read
The response initiated by Suez to thwart the takeover offer of its rival Veolia does not respect the rules applicable to public offers, said Friday the financial markets authority (AMF), inflicting a setback on the specialist in the management of the water and waste.
The response initiated by Suez to thwart the takeover offer of its rival Veolia does not respect the rules applicable to public offers, said Friday the financial markets authority (AMF), inflicting a setback on the specialist in the management of the water and waste.
Veolia, which in October became Suez's largest shareholder after buying a 29.9% stake from Engie, has been seeking for several months to take control of its rival, but the latter fiercely opposes it. The group led by Antoine Frérot has filed an offer on the balance of Suez capital at a price of 18.00 euros per share and intends to defend its project within the framework of the next general meeting of its rival which must be convened by end of June.
To defend itself, Suez recently made final until September 2024 a foundation under Dutch law preventing the sale of its water activities in France, effectively blocking the completion of the Veolia project which has planned to sell them for reasons competition. The group led by Bertrand Camus also proposed to initiate discussions with Veolia with a view to finding a compromise solution on the basis of a proposal from the Ardian-GIP consortium of funds which plans to take over a large part of the group's activities for 11.9 billion euros. Veolia immediately rejected this proposal, which it described as a "phantom offer".
AMF opinion strengthens Veolia
"The search for a negotiated solution between the parties is quite legitimate but it must respect the principles of transparency and integrity of the market, loyalty in transactions and competition, as well as the free play of offers and their bidding, "said the policeman of the Stock Exchange in a press release. "The combination between the changes that the Suez company announces to have made to the foundation's mechanism under Dutch law and the Ardian-GIP consortium's proposal negotiated and supported by the Suez board of directors undermines the rules and guiding principles applicable to the offers public ”, adds the AMF.
In its communication, the authority considers in particular that the Ardian-GIP consortium - which explained that its proposal did not constitute a counter-offer - "is in fact placed, with the support of the company targeted by the offer, which granted it an exclusive commitment, in a situation of competition with the company Veolia ". The AMF also considers that the valuation of 20 euros per share mentioned in the consortium's proposal "does not correspond, in reality, to a price or a value that the shareholders of Suez would be able to receive", that this information "does not not contribute to the correct information of investors "and that the foundation created by Suez could only be deactivated" in limiting and constrained cases ".
Contacted, Suez declined to comment immediately. The AMF's communication could give weight to the arguments of Veolia, which has taken legal action to cancel the foundation created by Suez. The stock market policeman will soon give his opinion on the compliance of the public offer launched by Veolia.
La riposte de Suez contre Veolia enfreint les règles, dénonce l'AMF
Par Challenges.fr le 02.04.2021 à 14h49
Lecture 3 min.
La riposte engagée par Suez pour contrecarrer l'offre de rachat de son rival Veolia ne respecte par les règles applicables aux offres publiques, a estimé vendredi l'autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), infligeant un revers au spécialiste de la gestion de l'eau et des déchets.
La riposte engagée par Suez pour contrecarrer l'offre de rachat de son rival Veolia ne respecte par les règles applicables aux offres publiques, a estimé vendredi l'autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), infligeant un revers au spécialiste de la gestion de l'eau et des déchets.
Veolia, devenu en octobre le premier actionnaire de Suez après le rachat d'une participation de 29,9% auprès d'Engie, cherche depuis plusieurs mois à prendre le contrôle de son rival mais ce dernier s'y oppose farouchement. Le groupe dirigé par Antoine Frérot a déposé une offre sur le solde du capital de Suez au prix de 18,00 euros par action et compte défendre son projet dans le cadre de la prochaine assemblée générale de son rival qui doit être convoquée d'ici à fin juin.
Pour se défendre, Suez a récemment rendu définitif jusqu'en septembre 2024 une fondation de droit néerlandais empêchant la cession de ses activités dans l'eau en France, bloquant de fait la réalisation du projet de Veolia qui a prévu de les céder pour des raisons de concurrence. Le groupe dirigé par Bertrand Camus a parallèlement proposé d'engager des discussions avec Veolia en vue de trouver une solution de compromis sur la base d'une proposition du consortium de fonds Ardian-GIP qui envisage de reprendre une importante partie des activités du groupe pour 11,9 milliards d'euros. Veolia a immédiatement rejeté cette proposition qu'il a qualifiée d'"offre fantôme".
L'avis de l'AMF renforce Veolia
"La recherche d'une solution négociée entre les parties est tout à fait légitime mais elle doit respecter les principes de transparence et d'intégrité du marché, de loyauté dans les transactions et la compétition, ainsi que du libre jeu des offres et de leurs surenchères", souligne le gendarme de la Bourse dans un communiqué. "La combinaison entre les modifications que la société Suez annonce avoir apportées au dispositif de la fondation de droit néerlandais et la proposition du consortium Ardian-GIP négociée et soutenue par le conseil d'administration de Suez porte atteinte aux règles et principes directeurs applicables aux offres publiques", ajoute l'AMF.
Dans sa communication, l'autorité estime notamment que le consortium Ardian-GIP - qui a expliqué que sa proposition ne constituait pas une contre-offre - "se place de fait, avec l'appui de la société visée par l'offre, qui lui a octroyé un engagement d'exclusivité, dans une situation de compétition avec la société Veolia". L'AMF juge aussi que la valorisation de 20 euros par action évoquée dans la proposition du consortium "ne correspond pas, en réalité, à un prix ou une valeur que les actionnaires de Suez seraient en mesure de recevoir", que cette information "ne contribue pas à la bonne information des investisseurs" et que la fondation créée par Suez ne pourrait être désactivée que "dans des cas limitatifs et contraints".
Contacté, Suez n'a pas souhaité faire de commentaire dans l'immédiat. La communication de l'AMF pourrait donner du poids aux arguments de Veolia, qui a saisi la justice pour faire annuler la fondation créée par Suez. Le gendarme boursier doit prochainement rendre son avis sur la conformité de l'offre publique lancée par Veolia.