Veolia CEO Insists Conspiracy Claims Won’t Delay Suez Deal

Veolia Environnement SA chief executive officer rejected allegations by some Suez SA labor unions that he was part of a conspiracy to buy the company’s French rival, and said a probe isn’t likely to affect the timeline of the transaction.

France’s financial prosecutor’s office said last week that it has opened a preliminary inquiry to discover whether people have illegally used their status or position to influence Veolia’s acquisition of a large part of Suez.

“We’re not expecting impacts of this matter on the progress” of our transaction, CEO Antoine Frerot said in a conference call devoted to third-quarter earnings ...