Energiser Investments Share Discussion Threads

[grupo] 05/10/2020 17:06

Engie to Study Veolia Bid for Suez Stake as Ardian Drops Out

Francois de Beaupuy, Bloomberg News








A pedestrian passes a Veolia Environnement SA garbage truck in Paris. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg

A pedestrian passes a Veolia Environnement SA garbage truck in Paris. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg , Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- French private-equity firm Ardian SAS won’t make an immediate offer to buy most of Engie SA’s stake in Suez SA, leaving the French water and waste utility facing a hostile takeover from Veolia Environnement SA.

Engie’s board, which has already said it’s happy with Veolia’s 3.4 billion-euro ($4 billion) bid for its 29.9% stake in Suez, is due to meet later Monday to consider the proposal. The offer expires in a few hours, and the French government, which owns 24% of Engie, has signaled it would back only a friendly takeover deal amid job concerns, raising doubts about the outcome of the board meeting.

Suez, which had been pushing a offer from Ardian as an alternative to Veolia’s approach, reiterated in a statement on Monday that it still considers any bid from its French rival to be hostile. Suez last month created a so-called poison pill in a bid to make antitrust issues more difficult for its suitor.

“In order to preserve the interest of all its shareholders and stakeholders, the board confirms that it will put all the means at its disposal to avoid a creeping takeover or de facto control,” Suez said in the statement.

Suez’s shares fell 3% to 15.59 euros at 4:16 p.m. in Paris after Ardian pulled out, opened the doors for a potentially prolonged and acrimonious takeover saga. Veolia declined 1.1% while Engie slid 0.2%.

The acquisition fight started at the end of August, when Veolia offered to buy the Engie stake in Suez. That would eventually pave the way for a full takeover as Veolia attempts to cement its global leadership in environmental services.

Hostile Takeover

Veolia, which raised its bid to 18 euros a share on Sept. 30 from an earlier 15.50 euros, said on Sunday it won’t pursue a hostile takeover if it acquires the stake from Engie. The company said it was providing such a guarantee following demands from Engie’s board.

In the event of a deal, Veolia would need to address antitrust issues, which it has said could take as many as 18 months. It plans to sell Suez’s French water activities, and has offered to offload some other international water assets to a single buyer. Overall revenue of these assets would amount to 5 billion euros, including 2.2 billion euros for the French water holdings, Veolia said in a statement Sunday.

The government has tried and failed to broker an end to hostilities in recent weeks. It’s been pushing Veolia to sell more water assets to a single buyer with a view to keeping a sizable rival to Veolia in that domain.

In a letter to Veolia Chief Executive Officer Antoine Frerot, Suez Chairman Philippe Varin said Sunday that the company “showed goodwill and worked hard to find a solution that could be acceptable to everyone,” but Veolia’s proposal fell short of preserving two French global players in environmental services.

Ardian decided not to make an offer to leave room for ongoing talks, the Paris-based fund said in a statement Monday. The private equity firm had worked on an offer backed by Suez’s employees and its board, that would require six weeks of due diligence.

(Updates with details of Engie board meeting, Ardian’s comments from the second paragraph.)

[grupo] 05/10/2020 15:02

Suez Board Supports Ardian's Decision Not to Submit Offer, Still Considers Veolia's Approach Hostile -- Update
05/10/2020 3:29pm
Dow Jones News

Engie (EU:ENGI)
Intraday Stock Chart


Monday 5 October 2020
Click Here for more Engie Charts.

By Olivia Bugault



-Suez's board has said that it still sees Veolia's approach for it as hostile

-Ardian said won't submit an offer for a stake in Suez in order to allow time for discussions

-Veolia said Sunday that it won't launch a hostile takeover bid for Suez



Suez SA's board of directors confirmed on Monday that it still considers Veolia Environnement SA's approach to be hostile, but agrees with private-equity firm Ardian's decision not to make an offer for a stake in the water and waste-management company.

Veolia said in late August that it intended to buy a 29.9% stake in Suez held by Engie SA, which would be a first step before taking full control of the company. Suez rejected the bid and has been in a dispute with rival utility company Veolia since then.

"In order to preserve the interest of all its shareholders and stakeholders, the board confirms that it will put all the means at its disposal to avoid a creeping takeover or de facto control," Suez said.

Suez's board reiterated its view on Veolia's approach after Veolia said Sunday that "it unconditionally commits not to file a hostile takeover bid following the sale of the shares held by Engie in Suez."

In Monday's statement, Suez criticized Engie's board for not taking into consideration and discussing an option other than Veolia's bid.

Last week, Engie's board welcomed Veolia's improved bid of 18 euros ($21.09) a share for a 29.9% stake in Suez held by the company. Veolia initially proposed a bid of EUR15.50 a share.

"In the current climate, the board agrees with Ardian's decision that it is not appropriate to make any offer to Engie," Suez said Monday.

French private-equity firm Ardian informed Engie of its interest in buying the stake in Suez last week but said Monday that it won't submit an offer for the moment.

"Following the expression of its interest, Ardian worked on an offer supported by Suez employees and its board, and requiring six weeks of due diligence," Ardian said Monday. "However, Ardian, faithful to its principles of non hostile negotiations, has decided not to submit an offer to allow time for ongoing discussions," it said.



Write to Olivia Bugault at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 05, 2020 10:14 ET (14:14 GMT)

[maywillow] 05/10/2020 10:34

Don't Miss Total In The Sell-Off Of The Energy Sector

Oct. 5, 2020 5:22 AM ET|

Aristofanis Papadatos

Summary

The entire energy sector is going through a fierce sell-off due to the pandemic, in contrast to the rest of the market, which is hovering around its all-time highs.

Total is by far the most resilient oil major during downturns.

It exhibited superior results in the downturn of the energy sector between 2014 and 2016 and in 2019. Moreover, it is the only profitable oil major this year.

Total is likely to offer exceptional risk-adjusted returns off its current price.


Final thoughts

The entire energy sector has been beaten to the extreme due to the pandemic. As a result, Total has become grossly undervalued and hence those who purchase it now are likely to be highly rewarded in the long run, when the dust settles and the panic subsides. The other oil majors have plunged much more than Total and thus they may offer greater returns, particularly if the energy market enjoys a swift recovery. However, conservative investors should probably select Total for its resilience in the event of a prolonged downturn. In this way, they will be able to remain patient much more readily throughout the ongoing downturn.

[adrian j boris] 04/10/2020 08:00

There is disagreement as to how long it will take for oil to recover and whether it ever will. The lockdowns and other restrictions may have changed patterns of behaviour for the foreseeable future, although we will only know once we're on the other side of the pandemic. Energy companies, it would appear, are not waiting to find out.

Professor Paul Stevens, from the UK's Chatham House, spoke to CGTN about the situation.

[waldron] 02/10/2020 16:23

Brent Crude Oil NYMEX 39.69 -3.03%
Gasoline NYMEX 1.11 -2.04%
Natural Gas NYMEX 2.99 -0.93%
WTI 37.559 USD -2.34%


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Eni
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Total
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Bp
214.4 -1.74%

Vodafone
102.82 +1.10%

Royal Dutch Shell A
933.1 +0.55%



Royal Dutch Shell B
904 -0.36%

Tullow Oil (TLW)
14.295 -0.23 (-1.58%)

[grupo] 02/10/2020 06:59

thenational.ae


Engie given more time to weigh up $4bn offer for Suez stake

Suez has opposed Veolia's proposal and backed an alternative approach from private equity firm Ardian SAS

A sign above Veolia's headquarters in Paris. The company has bid $4bn to buy a stake in Suez from Engie. Engie has been given longer to consider the offer and has received interest from rival bidders. Bloomberg
A sign above Veolia's headquarters in Paris. The company has bid $4bn to buy a stake in Suez from Engie. Engie has been given longer to consider the offer and has received interest from rival bidders. Bloomberg

Engie pushed back the deadline for accepting Veolia's €3.4 billion ($4bn) bid for most of its stake in Suez, though there was little sign the delay would ease the tensions between the French corporate giants.

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

The wrangling over the sale of the 29.9 per cent stake – and eventual planned takeover – has continued for a month, with Veolia pushing to create a waste and water utility with more than €40bn in sales, while Suez has done all it can to thwart the proposal. The French government, which holds 24 per cent 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 per cent 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 said on 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, Mr 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 on 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 Antoine Frerot said.

Updated: October 1, 2020 09:36 PM

[waldron] 01/10/2020 19:48

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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 15:05

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 12:11

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 06:06

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 07:23

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.