By Joshua Kirby 
 

Suez SA said Thursday that it hasn't received the necessary information to complete an employee consultation that would unfreeze a court-ordered suspension of the effects of the purchase of a stake in the company by Veolia Environnement SA.

The French waste-management company said that a court ruling confirmed Thursday that the effects of Veolia's purchase of a 29.9% stake in Suez's share capital remained suspended pending the completion of an employee consultation.

The Paris Court of Appeal confirmed an earlier ruling that said Suez employees had a right to be informed and consulted regarding the deal. Veolia bought the stake from energy company Engie SA.

Since no consultation had been carried out before the deal was finalized on Oct. 5, the effects of the sale remain suspended until the consultation had been completed, according to the ruling, Suez said.

"At this stage, Suez management still has not received from either Engie or Veolia all the necessary elements to respond precisely to employees' legitimate concerns regarding their future," the company said.

Earlier on Thursday, Veolia said in a statement that it would recover all rights in Suez resulting from the purchase by February 5 at the latest, three months after a date when, according to Veolia, Suez announced the beginning of the consultation.

Suez contests that Veolia will recover its rights on that date, and argues that the starting date for the consultation hasn't been fixed.

Suez has characterized Veolia's purchase of a stake in the company and its stated plans for a full takeover as hostile.

 

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@dowjones.com; @joshualeokirby

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 19, 2020 08:08 ET (13:08 GMT)

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