Veolia Cargo signed an agreement for the acquisition of Rail4Chem
Paris, February 20, 2008 - Veolia Cargo signed an agreement for the acquisition of Rail4Chem, a company that specializes in international rail freight transportation. Owned by four private shareholders, Rail4Chem recorded revenue of over €80 million in 2007. The acquisition will come into effect in 2008 subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities.
With most of its revenues generated in Germany and Netherlands, and recently in Belgium and Italy, it will give the opportunity to Veolia Cargo to become a major private Railway Undertaking in this region. In Germany, Veolia Cargo will double its activities. It will also bring new traffic opportunities, particularly in Poland and in Switzerland.
This contract will enable the new entity to be fully operational on the most important European freight corridors and it will also bring new industrial opportunities, particularly in the chemical, food & beverage sectors, and will strengthen the presence of Veolia Cargo in the intermodal sector.
With this acquisition, Veolia Cargo's revenue should increase from the 2007 figure of €122 million to over €200 million in 2008, an increase of more than 60%.
"This latest acquisition confirms the commitment of Veolia Transport and Veolia Environnement to rail freight, which will serve Europe's industrial companies and contribute to sustainable development. It consolidates Veolia Cargo's position as an industry benchmark in independent rail operation in Europe," said Cyrille du Peloux, CEO of Veolia Transport.
Veolia Cargo is an independent private European freight transportation company, a subsidiary of Veolia Transport, specialized in rail-based logistics. In 2007, Veolia Cargo generated revenue of €122 million. It employs 1000 people and carries 37 million metric tons of freight a year. It is primarily involved in medium and long-distance rail-freight transportation (national and cross-border services), management of private sidings at industrial sites and local rail networks, and train-haulage-related services and logistics services at industrial sites. Veolia Environnement's transport division operates in 27 countries and employs 81,897 people. Veolia Transport posted revenue of €5.5 billion in 2007. Veolia Transport operates 30,800 road and rail vehicles and carries more than 2 billion passengers per year. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE and NYSE: VE) is world leader in environmental services. With more than 300,000 employees the company has operations all around the world and provides tailored solutions to meet the needs of municipal and industrial customers in four complementary segments: water management, waste management, energy management and freight and passenger transportation. Veolia Environnement recorded revenue of €32,6 billion in 2007. www.veolia.com
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Veolia Environnement is a corporation listed on the NYSE and Euronext Paris. This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, including the risks described in the documents Veolia Environnement has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Veolia Environnement does not undertake, nor does it have, any obligation to provide updates or to revise any forward-looking statements. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of documents filed by Veolia Environnement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from Veolia Environnement
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