The kingdom’s Competition Council is requiring Veolia, the French water and waste treatment conglomerate, to sell its subsidiary Lyonnaise des Eaux de Casablanca (Lydec), a Moroccan company, for failing to make way for its longtime rival Suez, reported “Le Figaro” on Tuesday.
Morocco’s Competition Council permitted Veolia to aquire Lydec two years ago, and the latter is at the center of antitrust concerns in the Cherifian kingdom.
The controversy stems from Veolia’s acquisition of the bulk of Suez’s operations in January 2022.
Given the international scope of the two groups, the deal, which came about after a long battle between the two French companies, was conditioned on the approval of numerous competition authorities around the world, added the same source.
Lydec is a Moroccan subsidiary of the French Veolia group, having previously belonged to the French Suez group until January 2022.