Suez Environnement Shares Jump on Engie Buyout Speculation

By Blandine Henault

PARIS--Shares in Suez Environnement SA (SEV.FR), the French water and waste-management giant, jumped more than 5% on Tuesday amid speculation that parent company Engie SA might be about to make a multibillion-euro bid for the shares it doesn't already own in the group.

Engie has enlisted banking advisors to investigate the deal, according to a report in La Lettre d'Expansion, a business newsletter.

Engie, formerly known as GdF Suez, spun off Suez Environnement at the time of its creation through the merger with state-controlled gas utility Gaz de France and retains a 33.7% stake in the business.

Engie and Suez Environnement declined to comment.

The possibility of a bid fired up demand for shares in Suez Environnement, though some analysts were skeptical of the benefits for Engie.

Taking full control of Suez Environnement would make little sense, said analysts at brokerage house Bryan Garnier. They said Engie, buffeted by low wholesale power prices in Europe and slowing economic growth in emerging markets such as Brazil, focuses on liquefied natural gas and emerging economies, which makes for a poor fit with Suez Environnement's largely municipality-focused water and waste-treatment business.

Suez Environnement share were up 5.6%, valuing the group at 9.80 billion ($10.46 billion) at around 1115 GMT.

Shares in Engie were up 1.3%, valuing the group at EUR39.12 billion.

Write to Blandine Henault at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 17, 2015 07:04 ET (12:04 GMT)

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