PARIS - The French state will not yield to any pressure over Veolia's bid for smaller rival Suez, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday.
"I want us to take the time necessary," Le Maire told France Inter radio. "The state will not give in to any pressure."
Veolia is due to improve its 2.9 billion euros ($3.4 billion) bid to buy the bulk of Engie's stake in smaller rival Suez by Sept. 30.
Utility Engie owns almost 32% of Suez and the French state holds a 23.6% stake in Engie.
($1 = 0.8563 euros)
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Matthieu Protard; editing by Jason Neely) ((matthieu.protard@thomsonreuters.com; +33-1-49495381;))
