French energy group Engie retains Bouygues' bid to buy services unit (updated)

Bain Capital Specialty Finance

06/11/2021 24:28

(Recasts with Engie statement)
    By Gwénaëlle Barzic
    PARIS, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Engie  ENGIE.PA  has retained
French conglomerate Bouygues'  BOUY.PA  bid to buy its Equans
services division, the French energy group said on Friday after
its board met to consider offers.
    Engie said it was entering exclusive talks with Bouygues
after the group made a firm offer valuing Equans, which provides
energy and facilities management services and currently employs
around 40% of Engie's total workforce, at 7.1 billion euros
($8.20 billion).
    With 12 billion euros in annual revenue, Equans' purchase
would make industrial services one of Bouygues' biggest
activities alongside interests ranging from construction to
telecoms and media.
    At Engie, the sale of the division forms part of a broader
sale of non-core assets as the group shifts its focus to
renewable energies. Engie said nearly all of the proceeds from
the deal would go to paying down debt.
    Bouygues' offer was in competition with rival bids from
French civil engineering group Eiffage  FOUG.PA  and U.S.
private equity group Bain Capital  BCSF.N  after French
engineering firm Spie and U.S. private equity firm Carlyle
withdrew earlier.
    "Bouygues' offer was the most compelling taking into account
all criteria including financial valuation," Engie said in a
statement.
    Less than six months from a presidential election, the deal
is politically sensitive given that Equans is a major employer
in France with 27,000 people on its payroll in the country and
the French state is Engie's biggest shareholder with a nearly
24% stake.
    To win over Engie and unions, Bouygues pledged to make no
forced redundancies over five years in France and Europe and
create 10,000 additional jobs over the period.
    The family-controlled Bouygues also said this week it would
not need a capital increase to finance the deal.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2RU1TN
    Engie said the transaction was expected to close in the
second half of 2022.
    ($1 = 0.8655 euros)

 (Reporting by Gwaenelle Barzic, writing by Leigh Thomas,
Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Daniel Wallis)
 ((leigh.thomas@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 4949 5143;))