PARIS, March 8 (Reuters) - The board of French waste and water group Suez SEVI.PA is ready to discuss a tie-up with Veolia VIE.PA if its domestic rival raises its takeover offer and strengthens job guarantees, Chairman Philippe Varin told Le Figaro on Monday.
The preconditions laid down by Suez may open the way for a resolution to the standoff triggered by Engie's ENGIE.PA October sale of a 29.9% Suez stake to Veolia - which followed up in February with a takeover offer worth 18 euros per Suez share, rejected by its board.
The saga has pitted Varin and Suez Chief Executive Bertrand Camus against Veolia CEO Antoine Frerot, who has said he plans to present a revised offer this week. It has also prompted fruitless French government attempts to broker a deal.
Varin, who enlisted support from private equity funds Ardian and GIP that stopped short of a counterbid, said preconditions for direct talks with the Suez board included an offer "well above" 18 euros and the extension of proposed job guarantees to four years, and to overseas workers.
Other assurances sought by Varin cover research and development activities and an opportunity for Suez to present its response to the new offer directly to Veolia's board.
"It is only on these conditions that we can enter a negotiating phase," Varin told the French daily.