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[waldron] 01/10/2020 20:48

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3h ago

Engie Pushes Back Deadline for Sale of Suez Stake to Veolia

Francois de Beaupuy, Bloomberg News

An Engie SA logo sits on display at the French energy giant’s Crigen gas, new energy and emerging technology research and development center in Stains, France, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. Veolia Environnement SA last month offered to buy 29.9% of Suez SA from French utility Engie for 2.9 billion euros ($3.4 billion), the first step to taking full control. Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg

An Engie SA logo sits on display at the French energy giant’s Crigen gas, new energy and emerging technology research and development center in Stains, France, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. Veolia Environnement SA last month offered to buy 29.9% of Suez SA from French utility Engie for 2.9 billion euros ($3.4 billion), the first step to taking full control. Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Engie SA pushed back the deadline for accepting Veolia Environnement SA’s 3.4 billion-euro ($4 billion) bid for most of its stake in Suez SA, though there were limited signs the delay would ease the tensions between the French corporate giants.

The extension to Oct. 5 gives Veolia extra time to formalize talks with Suez, potentially allowing for a smoother acquisition. But Suez has shown scant inclination to engage in discussions, saying Thursday it backed an alternative approach from private equity firm Ardian SAS -- one that Engie has already brushed aside.

Suez Chairman Philippe Varin will talk with Veolia to get clarification on its project, which has “real flaws,” he said in an interview with Agence France-Presse Thursday. Ardian’s plan “will rapidly progress and reach maturity,” though getting a firm commitment in five days “would be a very ambitious target,” he told AFP.

The wrangling over the sale of the 29.9% stake -- and eventual planned takeover -- has continued for a month. Veolia is pushing to create a waste and water utility with more than 40 billion euros in sales, while Suez has done all it can to thwart the proposal. The French government, which holds 24% of Engie, has appealed for calm as it seeks to avoid an acrimonious acquisition battle between two of the nation’s largest companies.

Veolia on Wednesday raised its bid by 16% and offered employment guarantees in an effort to persuade Engie to sell the Suez shares. Engie’s board said the new price was in line with expectations, but it was still unwilling to go through with the deal.

“There is room for discussion,” Engie Chairman Jean-Pierre Clamadieu told reporters late on Wednesday. “We wish that both parties take the opportunity of this period to talk so that conditions of a friendly offer be met.”

Suez has fought hard to rebuff the approach. Last week it sought to frustrate Veolia’s plans by creating a so-called poison pill, making antitrust issues more complicated for its suitor. The utility has also attempted to assemble a competing offer for Engie’s stake.

Ardian Approach

Ardian said Thursday it had sent Engie a letter of intent to buy the Suez shares, and planned to put together a group of public and private investors -- mostly French -- to submit a friendly takeover offer.

While Suez’s board supported the move, Clamadieu said that Engie had received only a vague expression of interest, which lacked a price, details of the bidders or their funding. The time for considering rival offers has passed, he said.

Veolia said Wednesday it would make a tender offer for the remainder of Suez’s shares if Engie accepted its bid, but only on a friendly basis. The company proposed a period of six months for negotiations between the two sides to reach an agreement. If talks fail after that time, Veolia would present its offer direct to all shareholders, Chief Executive Officer Antoine Frerot said.

Suez shares closed 2.2% higher at 16.15 euros in Paris Thursday, less than the 18 euros a share offered by Veolia. Veolia added 0.6%, while Engie gained less than 0.1%.

(Updates Suez Chairman comments in third paragraph.)

[waldron] 01/10/2020 16:05

Denmark clears Nord Stream 2 to operate in its waters
Oct. 1, 2020 9:48 AM ET|About: Public Joint Stock Company ... (OGZPY)|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

The Danish Energy Agency gives the Gazprom-led (OTCPK:OGZPY) Nord Stream 2 consortium permission to operate its Baltic Sea natural gas pipeline on the Danish continental shelf.

"The permit has been granted on a number of conditions to ensure a safe operation of the pipelines," and commissioning of the gas link can take place "when at least one of the pipelines has been tested, verified and when relevant conditions in the construction permit and the operations permit have been met," the agency says.

Gazprom's Nord Stream 2 partners are Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B), Germany's Uniper (OTC:UNPPY) and BASF (OTCQX:BASFY), Austria's OMV (OTCPK:OMVJF) and France's Engie (OTCPK:ENGIY).

The German government has come under pressure to pull out of the project following the near fatal poisoning of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.

[grupo] 01/10/2020 13:11

Suez Supports Ardian Plan to Launch Takeover Bid for Company
01/10/2020 12:52pm
Dow Jones News

Veolia Environnement (EU:VIE)
Intraday Stock Chart


Thursday 1 October 2020
Click Here for more Veolia Environnement Charts.

--Suez says it supports France-based Ardian's approach to shareholder Engie for a 29.9% stake in the waste-management company

--The development came a day after rival Veolia Environnement made an increased bid to Engie for the same stake

--Engie looks set to accept Veolia's fresh offer, according to Jefferies analysts



By Joshua Kirby



Suez SA has backed private-equity firm Ardian's plan to launch a takeover bid for the company, the latest development in a story that this week saw Veolia Environnement SA increase its bid for Engie SA's shares in Suez as part of its plan to take over its rival.

"Both Suez's board of directors and its employee shareholders confirm their support for the letter of intent issued and made public today by Ardian in a press release, for the acquisition of a 29.9% stake of Engie's shares in Suez, and the all-cash takeover bid that would immediately follow for all Suez shareholders, under the same treatment conditions," the French waste-management company said Thursday.

The statement comes after France-based Ardian said it had informed Engie of its interest in acquiring a 29.9% stake in Suez from the energy company, adding that it wanted to form a consortium of mostly French private and public institutional investors to launch a friendly offer for Suez.

On Wednesday, Engie seemed closer to selling the 29.9% stake to Veolia, after the latter increased its offer by 16% to 18 euros ($21.10) a share from EUR15.50 in the initial offer.

Engie welcomed the renewed offer, which values the stake at EUR3.4 billion, saying it was in line with expectations regarding price and social guarantees, and adding that it would make a decision by Oct. 5.

Suez has opposed the approach from Veolia, saying that the terms of the new offer are vague and don't guarantee the interests of shareholders and stakeholders.

The new bid from Veolia may, however, be too good to refuse for Engie, according to analysts at Jefferies. The 18-euro-a-share offer represents a 50% increase on Suez's share price on Aug. 28, just before the announcement of the initial bid, Jefferies said.

"We see the price offered by Veolia as very attractive and believe Engie will find it difficult to refuse, particularly given its ambitions to invest in green energy," Jefferies said.

The U.S. bank added that acceptance could lead to a friendly merger, given Veolia's concessions to Suez, including full employment in France and integration of Suez executives into the larger group. Veolia also promised to make a tender offer for the remaining 70.1% of Suez on a friendly basis. Suez has been holding out for Veolia to make an offer for 100% of the company.

It is unclear whether the EUR18 offered by Veolia for each Suez share would be a reference price in any subsequent tender offer for the remaining shares, Jefferies said.



Write to Joshua Kirby at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 01, 2020 07:37 ET (11:37 GMT)

[waldron] 01/10/2020 07:06

Veolia Environnement SA agreed late Wednesday to extend its improved offer to buy a 29.9% stake in waste-management company Suez SA from Engie SA, as requested by Engie shortly before.

The French resource-management company's decision came after Engie welcomed the sweetened offer and said it was in line with its expectations in terms of both price and social guarantees. However, it asked for an extension of the offer to Oct. 5, which Veolia granted.

On Wednesday, Veolia increased its offer to Engie to 18 euros ($21.10) for each Suez share from a previous offer of EUR15.50 a share. Veolia also promised job security for Suez employees in France in the new offer, and said that it wouldn't launch a hostile takeover bid for Suez.

"The board therefore considered that this new offer is in line with its expectations in terms of price and social guarantees," Engie said, responding to the new offer. Besides the extension, it also requested a formal commitment by Veolia to a takeover only on friendly basis.

The bidder agreed to both requests, saying that it will formalize its commitment to a friendly takeover by Oct. 5, when the new offer now expires.



Write to Pietro Lombardi at [e-mail]; @pietrolombard10



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 01, 2020 01:32 ET (05:32 GMT)

[adrian j boris] 27/9/2020 08:23

OFF SHORE ENERGY BIZ

Smulders, ENGIE start working on Hollande Kust Noord offshore substation
Smulders, ENGIE start working on Hollande Kust Noord offshore substation

Business developments & projects

September 25, 2020, by Adrijana Buljan

The joint venture between ENGIE Solutions and Iemants, a subsidiary of Smulders, has cut the first steel for the topside of the offshore transformer station for the Hollandse Kust Noord wind farm zone in the Netherlands.

The joint venture partners, together with TenneT representatives, officially marked the beginning of works at a steel cutting ceremony at Iemants’ facility in Arendonk on 24 September.

Earlier this year, TenneT selected the ENGIE Fabricom – Iemants joint venture to construct the offshore substation for the Hollandse Kust Noord wind farm in the Dutch North Sea through a European tender procedure.

The joint venture is also the preferred contractor for TenneT’s Hollandse Kust West Alpha and the Hollandse Kust West Beta platforms.

The pieces that were now cut for the Hollandse Kust Noord topside are nodes and PRSs, which are the first building blocks for the topside. Steel fabrication will now continue at the Smulders’ facilities in Arendonk and Balen in Belgium.

The fabrication of the jacket foundation will start in November.

Assembly of the topside will start in October and then it will be transported to the ENGIE Solutions yard in Hoboken for final assembly in February 2021.

The outfitting, commissioning and testing of the topside will take place from June 2021 until May 2022.

Offshore installation of the jacket foundation is scheduled to take place in October 2021, while the topside will be installed offshore in mid-2022.

The Hollande Kust Noord offshore wind project will be built by the CrossWind consortium between Shell and Eneco, which won the tender in July.

The wind farm will feature 69 Siemens Gamesa 11 MW wind turbines and is set to become fully operational in 2023.

[adrian j boris] 26/9/2020 07:54

Spot natural gas prices at the Dutch TTF hub are also at multi-month highs at over $3/MMBtu, compared to a low of below $1/MMBtu in May, opening the window for profitable U.S. LNG exports to the region again.

Having plunged by more than 50 percent between January and July, U.S. LNG exports are set to pick up the pace, and the increase already started in August.

As per EIA estimates, U.S. LNG exports averaged 3.7 Bcf/d in August, up by 19 percent from July amid rising spot and forward natural gas prices in Europe and Asia.

“Higher global forward prices indicate improving netbacks for buyers of U.S. LNG in European and Asian markets for the upcoming fall and winter seasons amid expectations of natural gas demand recovery and potential LNG supply reduction because of maintenance at the Gorgon LNG plant in Australia,” the EIA said, expecting U.S. LNG exports to return to pre-COVID levels by November 2020 and to average more than 9 Bcf/d from December 2020 through February 2021.

The EIA expects that lower U.S. gas production, coupled with rising domestic demand and demand for LNG exports in the winter, will send Henry Hub spot prices jumping to a monthly average of $3.40/MMBtu in January 2021. Monthly average spot prices are set to remain above $3.00/MMBtu for all of next year, averaging $3.19/MMBtu in 2021, up from a forecast average of $2.16/MMBtu in 2020.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

[waldron] 25/9/2020 17:46

Brent Crude Oil NYMEX 42.24 -0.52%
Gasoline NYMEX 1.18 +0.58%
Natural Gas NYMEX 2.82 -1.40%
WTI 40.076 USD -0.45%


FTSE 100
5,842.67 +0.34%
Dow Jones
26,873.53 +0.22%
CAC 40
4,729.66 -0.69%
SBF 120
3,746.87 -0.53%
Euro STOXX 50
3,137.06 -0.70%
DAX
12,469.2 -1.09%
Ftse Mib
18,681.37 -1.19%

Eni
6.88 -1.81%



Total
28.06 -3.32%ex divi day


11.12 -0.13%

Orange
8.89 -1.44%



Bp
233.3 +0.39%

Vodafone
103.8 -0.04%

Royal Dutch Shell A
1,004.8 -0.91%


Royal Dutch Shell B
972.1 -0.61%


Tullow Oil (TLW)
: 15.46 -0.195 (-1.25%)

[sarkasm] 25/9/2020 12:10

Veolia Environnement SA is set to present an "improved offer" late Friday for Suez SA to Engie SA's board of directors, Chief Executive Antoine Frerot said in a press conference Friday.

"The offer price will be increased, but I won't say by how much," Mr. Frerot said, adding that price is not the sole criteria.

The improved offer takes into account the points raised by Engie, Mr. Frerot added. "The social commitments have been formally set out in a letter that will be sent to Engie's board of directors," he said.

Mr. Frerot said he is open regarding the question of governance, noting that of the 12 members of the new entity's executive committee, four or five could come from within Suez. "The same would apply for directors at country level," he added.



Alice Dore contributed to this article.



Write to Olivier Pinaud at [e-mail]



This story was translated in whole or in part from a French-language version initially published by L'Agefi-Dow Jones.



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 25, 2020 06:10 ET (10:10 GMT)

[waldron] 23/9/2020 19:35

Oil Prices Rise After EIA Reports Crude Inventory Draw
By Irina Slav - Sep 23, 2020, 9:41 AM CDT
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Crude oil prices reversed their decline today after the Energy Information Administration reported an oil inventory draw of 1.6 million barrels for the week to September 18. This compares with a draw of 4.4 million barrels for the previous week.

The report came a day after the American Petroleum Institute propped prices up temporarily by estimating a sizeable decline in gasoline stocks, coupled with a modest build in crude oil stocks. Analysts, on the other hand, had expected the EIA this week to report an inventory draw of 2.325 million barrels.

In gasoline, the EIA estimated an inventory draw of 4 million barrels for the week to September 18, compared with a decline of 400,000 barrels for the previous week. This also helped prices up.

Gasoline production averaged 9.3 million bpd last week, up on a week earlier, when gasoline output averaged just 8.8 million bpd.

In distillate fuels, which are giving refiners a headache as demand for them remains a lot more subdued than demand for gasoline, the EIA reported a draw in stocks of 3.4 million barrels. This compares to a build of 3.5 million barrels estimated for the previous week amid still severely limited air travel.

Distillate fuel production last week averaged 4.5 million bpd, compared with 4.4 million bpd a week earlier.

Oil prices were still down at the time of writing, with Brent crude trading at $41.69 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate trading at $39.70 a barrel. The decline is hardly a surprise: it came amid deepening worry about the future state of oil demand as economic reports from different parts of the world suggested that any recovery would be slow. It also came soon after the news broke that Libya was reopening some of its oil export terminals and boosting production.

OilX reported that plans were to raise production to 260,000 bpd, from currently below 100,000 bpd. In a precarious price environment, this production boost was bound to pressure prices despite OPEC+’s stated success with production cuts.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

[waldron] 23/9/2020 17:18

Big shipping insurers stop covering ships linked to Nord Stream 2
Sep. 23, 2020 11:43 AM ET|About: Public Joint Stock Company ... (OGZPY)|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

The world's largest group of shipping insurers will not insure vessels involved in the Gazprom-led (OTCPK:OGZPY) Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipeline projects because of the threat of U.S. sanctions.

Associations belonging to the International Group of P&I Clubs, including the Shipowners Club and the London P&I Club, say they will not provide cover "for any activity involving or related to the Nord Stream 2 or TurkStream construction projects."

Gazprom's Nord Stream 2 partners are Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B), Germany's Uniper (OTC:UNPPY) and BASF (OTCQX:BASFY), Austria's OMV (OTCPK:OMVJF) and France's Engie (OTCPK:ENGIY).

German Chancellor Merkel is being pressured by calls to halt Nord Stream 2 in response to the suspected poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny in Siberia last month.

[grupo] 23/9/2020 08:49

Business
Why is Engie CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu in a hurry to sell off Suez?

Published 4 mins ago

on September 23, 2020

By Business Correspondent

In the battle to ward off a hostile takeover from long-term rival Veolia, Suez is raising the stakes. The French waste and water management company announced that its strategy to improve the firm’s financial performance was paying off sooner than expected. As a consequence, Suez shareholders can look forward to €1.2 billion in exceptional dividends by early 2021.

The strategy was implemented last year, but the timing of the announcement is hardly a coincidence, coming mere days after Engie – which holds a 30 percent stake in Suez – rejected Veolia’s offer to buy out the stake at €15.50 per share, or a total of €2.9 billion on September17th. Engie’s CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu made it abundantly clear that Veolia’s bid was too low and called on the utilities provider to raise its offer, insisting that the “value of Suez is higher than the basis of these discussions.”

The rejection itself may not be the biggest news, however. More interesting is what can be read between the lines, specifically Clamadieu’s evident urgency that Veolia offer a new bid as soon as possible while calling on Suez to respond with a counter-offer – fast. The Engie CEO repeatedly stressed that any alternative bid would be considered carefully, assuming it could be “implemented rapidly”, and even offered an extension to Veolia for a new offer if need be.

If Engie’s signalling to both bidders that the clock is ticking was unequivocal, then that’s only because time is running out for Clamadieu as well. By rejecting Veolia’s bid and calling on Suez, it’s become evident that the Engie leadership is hoping to force a deal rather sooner than later. Indeed, after years of loss-making and continually falling operating profits, the Covid-19 pandemic left the company cash-strapped and is most likely the main driver behind Clamadieu’s decision to divest from some of Engie’s subsidiaries to reap the benefit of short-term financial windfalls.

Herein lies the rub – to get Engie’s finances back in order, Clamadieu seems willing to make a risky bet that’s resting on the assumption that a quick bidding war is the best way to maximize returns. But maximizing returns takes time as both contenders need to be given ample opportunity to escalate their bids. The emphasis on urgency is putting the pressure on Suez to react within a short period of time – Veolia’s offer expires September 30th – leaving the firm mere days to raise funds for a credible counter-offer. With the clock ticking fast, Clamadieu’s gamble may well backfire and force him to sign off on a deal that remains behind Engie’s expectations – but one that would most definitely make Veolia happy.

As such, the gambit raises broader questions about Jean-Pierre Clamadieu’s strategy, as well as his leadership. It’s important to note that Clamadieu was hailed as a fine and discreet business strategist when he became Engie CEO this February following a boardroom coup that saw the luckless former CEO Isabelle Kocher getting the sack. But in revealing the risky short-terminism in his thinking, Clamadieu isn’t doing himself any favours, particularly where his other leading business positions are concerned.

Take his role in French insurance company Axa, where he has held the Senior Independent Director position since April 2019. The insurance giant is facing down its own share of Covid-induced troubles after a Paris court ruled that the firm must cover a restaurant owner’s coronavirus-related revenue losses. The ruling set a ground-breaking precedent for businesses in the gastronomy sector, with the insurer now in talks with more than 600 establishments over financial settlements.

With Axa potentially in for millions of extra payments, a long-term strategy to keep the company profitable is required. In his role as Independent Director and member of the Compensation and Governance Committee, Clamadieu is holding significant responsibility in determining the company’s direction, but considering the gamble with Suez, Axa’s leadership would be justified in asking questions about his suitability to serve in a leading role in insurance – an industry that by definition deals in long-term assessments.

These trying times call for a steady hand and a thorough long-term strategy. Whether Clamadieu’s gamble will pay off remains to be seen, but if history is a lesson to be learned, the desire for short-term windfalls always loses out to long-term thinking.

[ariane] 22/9/2020 11:12

Suez Accelerates Strategic Plan, Promises Higher Shareholder Returns Amid Takeover Interest -- Update

22/09/2020 10:31am

Dow Jones News

Suez (EU:SEV)



Tuesday 22 September 2020


--Suez is accelerating its 2030 strategic plan, citing good results, and it detailed financial targets for 2021, 2022

--Shareholder returns could reach at least EUR2 billion by the end of 2022

--Suez rejected a 'hostile' approach from Veolia earlier this month



By Olivia Bugault



Suez SA said Tuesday that it is accelerating its "SUEZ 2030" strategic plan after good results and it promised an exceptional dividend or share buyback of at least 1.0 billion euros ($1.17 billion) as it defends itself from takeover interest.

"The implementation of Suez' strategy announced in 2019, is delivering tangible results already this year on several workstreams, allowing the group to bring the overall timeline forward," Suez said.

The French waste-management company said it would pay the dividend or share buyback "as soon as possible" and by no later than the first half of 2021. Including an ordinary dividend of EUR0.65 per share to be paid in 2021 and of EUR0.70 per share for the following year, shareholder returns could reach at least EUR2 billion by the end of 2022, Suez said. The plan intends to double shareholder value by 2022, it added.

Suez rebuffed hostile interest from Veolia Environnement SA earlier this month, saying that it undervalued the company and raised concerns about the risk of job cuts. Suez's rejection followed Veolia's offer to acquire a 29.9% stake in its peer Suez from energy company Engie SA for EUR2.91 billion.

"The board supports the management in the reinforcement of the plan, which will significantly increase the value creation potential of an independent Suez group, for the benefit of all stakeholders," Philippe Varin, president of the board of directors, said.

Suez raised the saving objective part of the plan and now aims for EUR1.2 billion in annual savings by 2023, including EUR900 million that would be achieved by 2022, compared with a previous annual savings objective of EUR1 billion by 2023, it said.

Suez also provided more details on its financial goals for the years to come. Suez targets recurring earnings per share in 2021 of between EUR0.75 and EUR0.80 and up to EUR1 in 2022. It sees revenue above EUR16 billion for 2021 and above EUR17 billion for 2022. It targets earnings before interest and taxes between EUR1.35 billion and EUR1.5 billion for next year and of roughly EUR1.7 billion in 2022, it said.

Meanwhile, the company backed its guidance for this year.

The company expects organic growth, profitability, recurring free cash flow and return on capital to improve by 2022, it said. Organic growth is expected to be above 4%-5% per year from 2022, while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margin should expand by 100 basis points to 300 basis points, it said.

Suez is redeploying its capital and therefore plans at least EUR4.5 billion of growth investment from June 2020 to December 2022, including EUR3 billion of continued targeted capital expenditure to boost its organic growth, it said.



Write to Olivia Bugault at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 22, 2020 05:16 ET (09:16 GMT)