Suez-Veolia: Antoine Frérot gives priority back to shareholders
By Vincent Beaufils on 02.09.2021 at 2:00 p.m.
EDITORIAL - By launching his takeover bid on Suez, the CEO of Veolia is choosing shareholder democracy. Against the position of Bruno Le Maire, but also in contradiction with his deep choices.
Who will decide? Hostilities resumed on February 8 in the fight between Veolia and Suez, the global environmental giants, who must have the last word: to the shareholders of Suez, coveted by Veolia, who will be convened to a general meeting of here at the end of June; to justice, which is due to rule on February 18 on the hostile takeover bid, blocked in summary proceedings; to the market authorities, who have one month to decide; Or to the Minister of Economy and Finance, who threw himself in the face of an unfriendly operation?
Antoine Frérot, the yet placid CEO of Veolia, burned his ships by submitting his proposed offer for the 70.1% of Suez that he does not have, thus breaking his "unconditional commitment not to submit a hostile offer" , taken four months ago. It must be said that Suez took advantage of the period to do everything and try to escape the grip of its competitor by pushing the fires of a counter-takeover bid. As if in a couple trying to mend, one of the spouses happily continued to live his adventures elsewhere. Frérot certainly has the slowness and robustness of a diesel in appearance, but he has the wisdom and sagacity of a lover of the primitive arts. His only deadline, he knows, is the Suez assembly, by the end of the first half of the year. There, the shareholders will be counted; there, they will eventually decide to overthrow the board if they feel the directors have played against their interests. Are they not, after all, the owners?
Shareholder democracy
This choice of shareholder democracy, however, goes against all the theses developed for several years by the CEO, who is also president of the Institut de l'Entreprise. In this forum and elsewhere, a fairly visionary Antoine Frérot often defends a company "which is in the general interest, and does not only serve the interests of the owners and the shareholders", failing which capitalism runs its course. loss. At the forefront of "stakeholders who must find their account", obviously the employees, and those of Suez row thoroughly against the takeover bid of Veolia, placing its CEO in a contradiction that all the advertising posters extolling the merits of the operation will fail to erase.
But the priority given to shareholders at least frees itself from the cumbersome tutelage of the minister. We do not indeed see by what right Bruno Le Maire is invited into this debate. Suez and Veolia are two private companies. The competition authorities in Brussels are seized, and that is why the French assets of Suez are already pledged to a long-term investment fund that has proven itself. With the Economy, Finances and the Recovery, there is enough to do so that our Minister does not once again improvise the Minister of Mergers and Acquisitions.