Veolia and CriteriaCaixa, the investment arm of the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation, have reached an agreement whereby CriteriaCaixa will enter the capital of Veolia Environnement and will have a representative on its Board of Directors, as part of a stable participation agreement in the shareholding and governing bodies of Veolia, as announced by the Catalan group on Tuesday. The entity will allocate around one billion euros to the operation.
Veolia, a global leader in ecological transformation, owns Agbar, formerly Aguas de Barcelona. CriteriaCaixa will not exceed a 5.5% stake in Veolia and will remain invested in the company for at least two years. In 2024, the Veolia group, with 215,000 employees, provided drinking water to 111 million inhabitants and sanitation services to 98 million; produced 42 million megawatt-hours of energy; and treated 65 million tons of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) reported consolidated revenues of €44.7 billion in 2024.
Isidro Fainé, president of CriteriaCaixa, stated: ‘We are very pleased to join forces with Veolia and contribute to its future development. Our commitment and involvement in the success of this company will strengthen the asset structure of the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation, with the aim of generating the financial resources necessary to continue developing our social and philanthropic activities.
