SUEZ

SUEZ (Euronext: SZE, NYSE: SZE) is a leading French-based multinational corporation, with operations primarily in water, electricity and natural gas supply, and waste management. It is the result of a 1997 merger between the Compagnie de Suez and Lyonnaise des Eaux, a leading French water company. In the early 2000s SUEZ owned some media and telecoms assets, but was in the process of divesting these.

According to the Masons Water Yearbook 2004/5, SUEZ serves 117.4 million people around the world.

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History

SUEZ is one of the oldest continuously existing multinational corporations in the world, with one line of corporate history dating back to the 1822 founding of the Algemeene Nederlandsche Maatschappij ter begunstiging van de volksvlijt (literally: General Dutch Company for the favouring of industry) by King William I of the Netherlands (see Société Générale de Belgique). Its current form is the result of nearly two centuries of reorganisation and corporate mergers. Its current name comes from the involvement of one of its several founding entities - the Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez - in building the Suez Canal in the mid-19th century. Beginning of 2006, Suez announced a merger with Gaz de France.

Merger with Gaz de France

On February 25, 2006, French Prime minister Dominique de Villepin announced the merger of Suez and Gaz de France, which would make the first world liquefied natural gas company.^[1] The revenue of GDF is about 22.4 billions euros in 2005, compared to 41.5 billions for Suez. The CGT trade-union called the merger a "disguised privatization."^[2]

On 3 September 2007, Gaz de France and SUEZ announced agreed terms of merger. The merger would be on the basis of an exchange of 21 Gaz de France shares for 22 Suez shares via the absorption of Suez by Gaz de France. The French state would hold more than 35% of shares of the merged company, GDF Suez.^[3]

Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of SUEZ are: Edmond Alphandery, Antonio Brufau, René Carron, Gerhard Cromme, Étienne Davignon, Paul Desmarais, Jr., Richard Goblet D'Alviella, Jacques Lagarde, Anne Lauvergeon, Gérard Mestrallet, Jean Peyrelevade, Thierry de Rudder, Jean-Jacques Salane, and Lord Simon of Highbury.

Major subsidiaries

• SUEZ Energy International — energy
• SUEZ Environment — water and waste
• Sita — waste management
• Degremont — Water & WasteWater treatment engineering [1]
• Electrabel — electricity in Europe (first in Belgium)
• Distrigas — gas in Europe
• ELIA — high tension electricity grid operator in Belgium (TSO)
• Fluxys — high pressure gas grid operator in Belgium
• United Water — water in the United States, also Adelaide, Australia
• Elyo Services Ltd. — Building services / facilities management
• Tractebel Engineering — International engineering consultancy

References

1. ^ http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3234,36-745348,0.html (subscription)
2. ^ GDF-Suez petits arrangements avec la vérité. humanite.fr. Retrieved on 2006-09-25.
3. ^ "Suez, Gaz De France Agree To New Merger Deal", RTT News, 2007-09-04. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.