Veolia, an integrated player of the environmental service sector, is bringing its activity in the Middle East region on a whole new level with its merger deal with the businesses of Suez, a major player in water and waste sectors, finalised earlier this year.
Following a successful tender offer for the shares of Suez, Veolia had early this year announced the completion of the sale of the new Suez to a consortium of investors comprising Meridiam, GIP, CDC Group and CNP Assurances in line with the purchase agreement dated October 22, 2021, and for an unchanged enterprise value.
According to Veolia, this transaction included the main remedies approved by European Commission to preserve competition in environmental services following the combination of Veolia and Suez.
It therefore allows for the creation of an agile and sustainable new Suez from both an industrial and a social perspective, representing revenues of around €7 billion and a workforce of 35,000 employees, it stated.
The new Suez includes Suez’s Water and Recycling & Recovery activities in France, international assets in Italy, Central Europe, Africa including Morocco, Central Asia, India, China and Australia, as well as global digital and environmental activities, thus preserving real growth prospects and strong capacities for innovation in France and worldwide.
For Veolia, this sale marks the culmination of the combination with Suez, initiated 17 months ago, and a starting point to enter the future of a global champion of ecological transformation with a solid balance sheet.
A major industry player in the Middle East for more than 40 years, Veolia said the creation of this new world champion of ecological transformation is a game changer in the delivery of essential services to millions of people in communities across the world and in the Middle East.
With the combination of the strengths and competencies of both companies, the new Veolia will bring innovation, investments and enhanced resources to scale up the existing ecological transformation solutions while inventing the remaining ones, said the comoany in its statement.
In water and waste sectors, the addition of Suez’s activities and forces will enable Veolia to become the reference in hazardous waste treatment and to reinforce its position in the water management industry.
This will give the company a greater leverage to tackle major environmental challenges in the region, especially in the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, it added.
On the merger, Veolia Chairman and CEO Antoine Frérot said: “The creation of a global champion of ecological transformation is a game changer for the environmental services sector. Veolia’s aim is to act as a unique enabler of the ecological transformation solutions and a reliable partner for public and private customers to respond to the environmental emergency.”
“In the current challenging context worldwide, Veolia’s teams are more than ever mobilized around our primary mission of providing environmental and energy solutions to meet the vital needs of populations in a responsible manner and to continue building a sustainable future,” he stated.
To drive ecological transformation in the Near East and the Middle-East, Veolia will intensify its action in fields where the group can bring significant value-added through its extensive expertise, like for example in hazardous waste treatment, energy efficiency, water reuse and plastics recycling.
It also wants to go further in essential service activities which are Water, Waste, Sanitation and Electricity.
“Like me, thousands of colleagues have joined Veolia to contribute to the inspiring ambition of becoming the world champion of ecological transformation,” remarked Azad Kibarian, Veolia Director of the Italy, Africa and Middle East zone.
“This is a historic moment and with more talents, more countries and more skills, Veolia Middle-East will be stronger to satisfy the ever-increasing demands of our customers, turn the tide and meet the challenges of climate change, pollution and resource scarcity,” he stated.
While Veolia is progressing to develop new approaches to address the climate change challenges, some innovative solutions are already being implemented with success, this includes water supplies for agriculture, air quality through our affiliate Enova, CO2 capture, transportation, use and storage, he added.