In the latest turn in a multi-billion-dollar hostile takeover saga with potential global impact, French water and waste services management giant Veolia Environnement SA said March 11 that its target, the smaller but still sizable Paris-based rival Suez SA, could retain its France-based operations.
The two firms are locked in a months-long buyout dispute that ramped up in February after Veolia made the $13.1-billion hostile bid to buy Suez to create a even larger global giant, and, as a rare business strategy in Europe, has become a government challenge in France.