French waste and water giant Suez will acquire joint venture partner Sembcorp's stake in Australia's second-biggest waste-management business for $485 million.
Sembcorp, which is listed in Singapore, announced on Monday that it had agreed to sell its 40 per cent stake in the Australian waste joint venture  to Suez.??? 
Suez managing director Jean-Louis Chaussade said  the transaction would  allow the company to integrate its  portfolio of activities in "a very promising [Australian] market".
He also hinted at possible further deals in the Australian market.
"Following this acquisition, the financial flexibility of the group remains strong and keeps Suez ready to seize new development opportunities," he said.
The Paris-based company,  formerly known as Suez Environnement, began consolidating its 40 global brands recently under the Suez brand.
Mr Chaussade told The Australian Financial Review in   March  he was looking at acquisition opportunities around the world and Australia was an attractive market.
He said at the time the group had ???600 million ($946 million) to ???700 million of extra financial capacity.

Second-biggest collector
The Suez-Sembcorp joint venture  collects waste from 3.7 million Australian residents every week and is the second-biggest collector of roadside rubbish in the country behind listed peer Transpacific Industries.
Including its water-treatment business, which operated previously under the Degremont and Process Group brands, Suez's Australian business generates $1.5 billion in revenue and employs 2600 people.
Mr Chaussade said  the company would be able to extract "both operational and financial synergies" after taking full control of the joint venture. 
Sembcorp, a water, energy, and marine group, said it would book a net gain of about  $S350 million ($346.9 million) on the sale of SembSita, which is the holding company for its 40 per cent stake in the joint venture. 
"Since we first invested in SembSita in 2000 with Suez, the joint venture has grown significantly and become one of the leading integrated waste-management players in Australia," Sembcorp Industries chief executive Tang Kin Fei said.
"Proceeds from the sale will provide us with additional resources to invest in businesses and markets with high growth potential, in line with our focus on the energy and water sectors."
The deal is subject to approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board and is expected to complete by the end of 2015.

Management overhaul 
News of the buyout comes following a management overhaul of Suez's Australian  team.
In   July, Mark Venhoek was appointed chief executive  of Suez Australia to replace Eric Gernath, who has taken charge of the group's North American operations.
Separately, Transpacific Industries, which has been speculated as a potential acquirer or target in a waste-sector consolidation, said on Monday that it  planned to change its name to Cleanaway Waste Management Limited.
"The change of the company's name will support removal of duplication of the group's organisation and operating structure and will assist in reducing and realigning our cost base. It will also support effectively leveraging our national footprint under a  common go-to market brand name Cleanaway," new Transpacific chief executive  Vik Bansal said.
Shareholders will be asked to approve the name change at the Transpacific annual meeting on   October 30.