|
January 3 2007 - Billionaire businessman François Pinault failed on Tuesday to rule out a potential bid for French utility Suez, which is already the subject of a possible merger with Gaz de France.
A statement released by Artemis, the holding company controlled by France's Pinault family, said that although no decision had been taken about a possible offer for Suez, "all options remain open". The statement was issued after Suez demanded the intervention of the French stock market regulator, AMF, to force Mr Pinault to show his hand.
Suez's share price has risen by nearly 50 per cent over the past 12 months since the French government brokered a plan to merge Gaz de France with Suez last year. However, the two companies have been forbidden from completing the deal until after this spring's presidential election, a delay that has put the deal in some doubt.
The AMF was said to be now studying the Artemis statement. Under French takeover rules, investors can be barred from making a bid for a listed company for six months if, when pressed to clarify their intentions, they say that they are not preparing a bid.
| 
Articles 
| View all PennWell sites | View all PennWell events
Add RSS Feed
