Why did Caltagirone flee Suez after the Veolia takeover?
The Caltagirone group sells 3.54% of Suez, a company in which it entered only 4 years ago. Facts, numbers and comments
Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone sold 3.54% of Suez, the French energy giant. The sale, which generated an estimated capital gain of around 50 million euros, comes after the announcement of the Veolia takeover bid on Suez.
Let's go step by step.
THE ASSIGNMENT
Let's start with the facts. The Caltagirone group has left the Suez capital: in recent weeks, after the announcement of the Veolia takeover bid, it has completed the sale of 3.54% held in the French giant. Caltagirone was the third largest shareholder of the group after Engie (the former Gas de France which has 33%) and the Spaniards of CriteriaCaixa (5.7%).
Francesco Caltagirone jr, son of the engineer, resigned from the board of directors of the group, as anticipated by the newspaper .
SUEZ
Suez, which is part of the larger Engie group, is a company specializing in water and waste management. Led by CEO Jean-Louis Chaussade, Suez is present in 70 countries and boasts a turnover of over 18 billion euros. The group is the second largest shareholder in Italy with 23.3% of Acea, the Rome-based multi-utility.
THE OPA OF VEOLIA
The decision of the Caltagirone group comes after the announcement of the takeover bid by Veolia, a French multinational specialized in water management, waste management and energy services, on Suez. Management opposes the takeover bid, but the French state, which controls Engie, has not publicly opposed the operation.
A DEAL FOR THE CALTAGIRONE GROUP
The sale of 3.54% of the transalpine group, despite the moment, translates into a real bargain for Caltagirone: the entire operation would have closed with an estimated capital gain of 50 million euros.
THE STOCK EXCHANGE OF 2016
Let's take a step back. The Roman publishing and construction company entered the capital of Suez in 2016 with a share exchange with Acea. The crossing on the Italy-France axis had brought the Caltagirone group to 3.54% of the Parisian giant Suez and the transalpine multinational to 23.3% of Acea.
Caltagirone joined Suez in August 2016 "after an exchange agreement with which the French group bought an additional 10.85% stake in Acea from the Roman group, which decreased its presence in the Italian multi-utility from 16% at 5% in exchange for 20 million new Suez shares ”, recall Mediobanca analysts . The exchange had generated a capital gain of approximately 118 million.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/perche-caltagirone-scappa-da-suez-dopo-lopa-di-veolia/ on Thu, 03 Dec 2020 08:56:26 +0000.