| Suez Lyonnaise, Nalco Chemical 인수 박차
French firm pours it on
By IAN PHILLIPS
The Associated Press(1999년 6월29일)
[PARIS] French utilities giant Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux SA has made its second splash of the month in the United States with its move to purchase Nalco Chemical Co., a water-treatment group. The $4.1 billion agreement comes fast on the heels of the deal Suez Lyonnaise made on June 15 to buy Calgon Corp., a water-treatment company based in Pittsburgh.
Nalco shares rose 9 1/16 to close at 51 9/16, having gained about 50 percent in the last three months. Suez Lyonnaise Chairman Gerard Mestrallet said Monday that the company is keenly eyeing other opportunities in the rapidly changing U.S. water sector. The French company also holds a 28 percent stake in United Water Resources of Harrington Park, the former Hackensack Water Co., and has joined with United Water to operate several major municipal water systems around the country. "We want to develop our presence in the United States with local partners and teams," Mestrallet said.
-
Suez Lyonnaise will launch an all-cash offer of $53 a share for the Naperville, Ill.-based Nalco Chemical. The French company plans to merge Nalco with its water-treatment units, Calgon Corp. and Aquazur.
-
The merger will save $100 million over a one-year period and will make it the world leader in water-treatment services, Suez Lyonnaise said in announcing the deal. It still must be confirmed by the board of directors of both companies.
-
Suez Lyonnaise and its main rival, fellow French utility Vivendi SA, are competing fiercely with each other for market share in the United States, where municipalities are launching a wave of privatizations.
-
Vivendi paid $970 million this month to buy Superior Services Inc., a Milwaukee waste-management company. In March, Vivendi paid $6.2 billion for U.S. Filter Corp., a water-treatment concern.
-
Nalco provides on-site services to over 45,000 industrial and commercial customers in more than 120 countries. Its 1999 revenues were expected to be about $1.94 billion.
-
Suez Lyonnaise intends to base its worldwide water treatment operating center in Chicago. The company provides drinking water to 77 million people and waste-water services to 52 million people.
Even after the U.S. purchases, energy remains Suez Lyonnaise's core business, with water second and waste services third, Mestrallet said. "Frankly, I think it will remain the case," he said. "The energy market is changing quickly in the United States and Europe, and we also want to be active in that market."
|
즐겨찾기 추가 
시작페이지로 설정
