French asset manager Ardian has made an 11th hour bid for Engie’s 29.9% stake in Suez.
The expression of interest, sent yesterday, has received support from Suez’s board of directors and its director representing the employees.
Ardian said that it “wishes to form a consortium of private and public institutional investors, predominantly French, to carry out this project and launch a friendly public offer”.
On Tuesday, Engie’s board of directors said an updated offer by Veolia submitted earlier this week was now “in line with its expectations”, upping its original purchase price per share from €15.50 to €18.
As part of the bid, Meridiam has formally committed to acquiring Suez’s French water activities.
Veolia has extended the deadline for the bid to October 5, in response to Engie’s request.