A logo on the windows of Veolia’s regional headquarters in Paris, France, February 9, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
LONDON, August 25, 2010: The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has ordered the merger of Veolia and Suez waste management companies in the UK to be resolved, citing competition concerns.
The CMA said on Thursday that Veolia had to sell three units due to “significant competition concerns”, saying the decision would “protect councils and businesses from high prices and low quality services”.
It said Swiss’ UK waste management services business, Swiss UK’s industrial water operations business and Veolia’s European mobile water services business should be sold to buyers approved by the CMA.
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Stuart McIntosh, chair of the CMA’s inquiry group, said: “We will now work with Veolia to ensure there are suitable buyers so that businesses, councils – and ultimately taxpayers – are left out.
Veolia will generate 10% of its global revenue to 2 billion pounds ($2.37 billion) in 2020, with Suez making 1 billion pounds in the UK, CMA said.
EU and Australian competition authorities have requested “major routes”, the CMA said.
Veolia and Suez’s 13 billion euro ($13 billion) tie-up was approved by the European Union in December last year after months of legal wrangling and the deal closed in January. Read more
In June, Veolia ( VIE.PA ) said it planned to sell Suez’s UK waste business after the competition regulator raised objections.
Global players in waste and water management, Veolia and Suez will generate £2bn and £1bn respectively in the UK by 2020 – around 10% and 7% of their annual revenue, the CMA said.
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Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft, Editing by Sinead Cruise
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