Veolia Secures Full Ownership of Water Technologies and Solutions

Veolia has signed an agreement with CDPQ for the acquisition of its 30% stake in Veolia’s subsidiary Water Technologies and Solutions (“WTS”), allowing Veolia to achieve full ownership of WTS, enabling the company to unlock greater value potential, further simplify its structure and extract additional run-rate cost synergies of approximately US$97m.

This acquisition is a logical step in the deployment of Veolia’s GreenUp strategic roadmap, with efficient capital allocation to strengthen the Group’s anchoring in water technologies and in the United States, both identified as priority growth “boosters”.

The acquisition of CDPQ’s minority interests will further reinforce Veolia’s unique positioning as a global leader in water technologies. The Group is ideally placed to benefit from growing demand for innovative water treatment technologies and solutions, driven by macro-trends such as water scarcity, climate change adaptation, health concerns and the expansion of strategic industries such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and data centres.

The acquisition of the remaining 30% of Veolia’s subsidiary WTS will allow full operational control, enabling the Group to enhance performance and seize all opportunities for development and innovation through a complete integration process. Following the acquisition, Veolia will be able to unlock an additional US$97m of run-rate cost synergies by 2027. These synergies are already well identified and carry very low execution risk, given Veolia’s deep knowledge of the asset and proven track record in synergy delivery. The acquisition is expected to be accretive from 2026 and will contribute to improving Group ROCE.

The purchase price for the acquisition will be US$1.75bn (approximately US$1.61bn equivalent), corresponding to around 11x EV/post-synergies 2025e EBITDA. Post-transaction, Veolia will still maintain headroom compared with its Net Debt/EBITDA target of 3x, allowing the Group to retain strategic flexibility to continue deploying its GreenUp strategic plan.

Veolia confirms all 2025 guidance and GreenUp targets previously communicated at both Group and Water Technologies levels, and now aims to achieve an EBITDA CAGR of at least +10%(1) over the 2023–2027 period for its Water Technologies division.

“This acquisition marks a pivotal step in unlocking the full value potential of Water Technologies, a growth booster identified as a priority in our GreenUp strategic plan, and a segment where we are already a market leader. Full ownership will enable us to accelerate growth, enhance operational efficiency and synergies, as well as deepen alignment with strategic priorities. This move is especially crucial given the urgent and rapidly evolving needs of the market, allowing us to respond faster and more effectively to emerging opportunities and challenges,” said Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia’s Chief Executive Officer.

“We are proud of WTS’ achievements since our investment in 2017, as it has grown into a global market leader in water technologies. Through our partnership, we helped strengthen the company’s foundations and position it for sustained growth and long-term value creation. We are grateful for the close collaboration with the management teams at WTS and Veolia, and we wish them every success in this next chapter,” said Albrecht von Alvensleben, Managing Director, Head of Private Equity Europe at CDPQ.