Aug. 29, 2007 -- The Board of Directors of SUEZ announced its intention to request voluntary withdrawal of its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), followed by a request for deregistration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The withdrawal of SUEZ ADRs from trading is expected to become effective in September 2007.
Nevertheless, SUEZ intends to maintain a Level 1 ADR program to allow those investors who wish to continue to hold their ADRs.
The main reasons which led SUEZ to take this initiative are:
1. SUEZ is listed on Euronext Paris. The NYSE trading volume of SUEZ shares (ADRs) has remained very low, approximately 1,5% of the total volume of SUEZ shares traded over the past 12 months. For liquidity reasons, the great majority of investors prefer to trade SUEZ shares in its main trading market. Furthermore, elimination of extra costs related in particular to application of the Sarbanes Oxley Act will generate savings and create shareholder value.
2. The merger of NYSE and Euronext will facilitate direct investments by US investors in the French market. Finally, the two accounting standards (USGAAP and IFRS) have begun to converge.
In any case, SUEZ had decided to ensure its compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act prior to its decision to request delisting. This compliance program is successfully completed. The Group confirms its commitment to maintain strict internal controls, a high level of financial information, and an open, direct dialogue with US investors. The Group's financial information will continue to remain available in English on the SUEZ website (http://www.suez.com) and will continue to meet the highest standards of corporate governance, particularly with respect to the independence and international makeup of its directors.
Finally, SUEZ reaffirms its determination to continue to develop in North America where it generated some EUR 4.2 billion in revenues in 2006 and has 3,700 employees. This commitment is illustrated, among others, by recent investments and successes in the areas of LNG (Neptune, Massachusetts), wind energy (Ventus, Canada), and water supply system management (Indianapolis, Indiana).
SUEZ, an international industrial and services Group, designs sustainable and innovative solutions in the management of public utilities as a partner of public authorities, businesses and individuals. The Group aims to answer essential needs in electricity, natural gas, energy services, water and waste management. SUEZ is listed on the Brussels, Luxembourg, Paris, New York and Zurich stock exchanges and is represented in the main international indices: CAC 40, BEL 20, DJ STOXX 50, DJ EURO STOXX 50, Euronext 100, FTSE Eurotop 100, MSCI Europe and ASPI Eurozone The Group employs 140,000 people worldwide and achieved revenues of EUR 44.3 billion in 2006, 89 % of which were generated in Europe and in North America.
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