Gaz de France

Infobox Defunct company
company_name = Gaz de France
company_
fate = Merger with Suez
location = Paris, France
defunct = 22 July 2008
successor = GDF Suez
foundation = 1946
industry = Energy
products = Natural gas production, sale and distribution, energy trading
key_people = Jean-François Cirelli (Chairman of the board and CEO)
homepage = [http://www.gazdefrance.com/ www.gazdefrance.com]
intl = yes

Gaz de France (GDF) was a French company which produced, transported and sold natural gas around the world, especially in France, its main market. The company was also particularly active in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany as well as other European countries. Through its part-owned Belgian subsidiary SPE it was also involved in nuclear power generation. [cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSL1219555920080312|title=SPE buys Belgian nuclear capacity from Electrabel|last=Blenkinsop|first=Philip|date=12 March 2008|work=Reuters|accessdate=2008-07-12] The company conducted a merger of equals with fellow utility company Suez on 22 July 2008 to form GDF Suez. [cite news|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aFiKMd_hki.Q&refer=europe|title=GDF Suez Shares Fall in Debut Following Merger |last=Patel|first=Tara|date=22 July 2008|work=Bloomberg|accessdate=2008-07-22]

History

Gaz de France was created with its sister company Électricité de France (EDF) in 1946 by the French Government. After the liberalisation of Europe’s energy markets, Gaz de France also entered into the electricity sector, having developed combined natural gas-electricity offerings.

With part-privatisation EDF and Gaz de France latterly became two totally separate entities, with each controlling a distribution subsidiary responsible for running its distribution system. For Gaz de France, this was the Gaz de France Distributor. Together, these two distributors managed a joint department, “EDF Gaz de France Distribution” formerly called “EDF GDF Services, which was responsible for field-based activities (meter reading, activating connections, engineering work, etc.). In January 2008 EDF Gaz de France Distribution was split into two entities: ErDF (Électricité réseau distribution France), 100% owned by EDF, and GrDF (Gaz réseau distribution France), wholly-owned by Gaz de France (and now by GDF Suez).

The company's capital was partially floated on the Paris Stock Exchange in July 2005, raising €2.5 billion for the French Government. [cite news|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=agF4FhEQmRPA&refer=europe|title=Gaz de France Shares Jump After Public Offering|last=Moya|first=Elena|date=8 July 2008|work=Bloomberg|accessdate=2008-07-12] The government continued to hold an approximate 80% stake in the company until the 2008 merger with Suez. [cite web|url=http://www.gazdefrance.com/EN/D/1482/shareholding-structure.html|title=Shareholding Structure|publisher=Gaz de France|accessdate=2008-07-12] The French state now holds approximately 35.7% of GDF Suez. [cite web|url=http://www.gdfsuez.com/CZ/en/finance/for-individual-shareholders/shareholding-structure/|title=Shareholding structure|date=22 July 2008|publisher=GDF Suez|accessdate=2008-07-22]

Merger with Suez

On February 25, 2006, French Prime minister Dominique de Villepin announced the merger of Suez and GDF, which would make the world's largest liquefied natural gas company. [cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/acheter.cgi?offre=ARCHIVES&type_item=ART_ARCH_30J&objet_id=935728&clef=ARC-TRK-D_01|title=Dominique de Villepin a annoncé un projet de fusion entre Gaz de France et Suez|date=25 February 2006|work=Le Monde|language=French|accessdate=2008-07-12] Since the French state owned over 80% of Gaz de France, it was necessary to pass a new law in order to make the merger possible.

On 3 September 2007, Gaz de France and Suez announced agreed terms of merger, on the basis of an exchange of 21 Gaz de France shares for 22 Suez shares via the absorption of Suez by Gaz de France. The French state would hold more than 35% of shares of the merged company, GDF Suez.cite news | http://www.rttnews.com/sp/todaystop.asp?item=3 | title=Suez, Gaz De France Agree To New Merger Deal | publisher=RTT News | date=2007-09-04 | accessdate=2007-09-04]

Whilst Nicolas Sarkozy was for several months opposed to the Villepin government’s plans for a merger of the two companies, he subsequently accepted the government proposal. This plan for a merger between Gaz de France and Suez came under fire from the whole of the political left, which feared the loss of one of the last ways of preventing the price rises experienced over the previous three years, and by the social Gaullists and trade unions. [cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/22/business/merge.php|title=French court puts brakes on merger of Gaz de France and Suez|date=22 January 2008|work=Bloomberg, Associated Press|publisher=International Herald Tribune|accessdate=2008-07-22]

Law No. 2006-1537 of December 7, 2006 on the energy sector authorised the privatisation of Gaz de France. On September 2, 2007, the boards of directors of Gaz de France and Suez approved the new framework for the planned merger between the companies. The newly-created company, GDF Suez, came into existence on 22 July 2008; the world's second-largest utility and a group of €74 billion of revenues. [cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKL0113342620080701|title=Suez shares to exit French CAC-40 July 22|last=Vidalon|first=Dominique|date=1 July 2008|work=Reuters|accessdate=2008-07-12]

Heads of the company

* Robert Hirsch: 1970-1975
* Pierre Alby: 1979-1986
* Jacques Fournier: 1986-1988
* Françis Gutmann: 1988-1993
* Loïk Le Floch-Prigent: 1993-1996
* Pierre Gadonneix: 1996-2004
* Jean-François Cirelli: 2004-2008

References

External links

* [http://www.gdfsuez.com/ Official website of GDF Suez]