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Multinational utility company Engie has agreed to sell its services unit to services group Bouygues for 7.1 billion euros.
The sale of Equans, one of the largest deals concluded in France in 2021, will boost Bouygues’ existing energy and services unit. For Engie, the sale will hasten its goals towards cleaner energy through renewable power generation and infrastructure such as car-charging networks.
Equans, which employs around 74,000 workers in France and installs and maintains air conditioning, electrical systems and telecommunications equipment, generates in excess of 12 billion euros a year in revenue.
Bouygues will use a combination of existing resources and bank loans to acquire the Equans shares.
Equans CEO Jerome Stubler and Pierre Vanstoflegatte, CEO of Bouygues group’s Energies & Services arm, will determine the new entity’s future structure.
Bouygues has said there will be no compulsory redundancies in Europe for at least five years after the deal, and has committed to hiring 15,000-20,000 new recruits annually to cover staff turnover as well as creating more than 10,000 net new jobs.
Olivier Roussat, CEO of Bouygues, said: “The acquisition of Equans by Bouygues is a project that creates value for customers, for employees, and for shareholders. This activity will become a new standalone business segment within the Bouygues group, and will be the largest in terms of headcount and sales. This is the biggest acquisition Bouygues has ever made, and all our people will pull together to make it a success.”
