France’s Bouygues makes its largest deal ever after buying Equans from Engie for $8.2bn

Paris-based Bouygues S.A. is making its largest-ever deal after agreeing to buy Equans, the service unit of French energy giant Engie, for 7.1 billion euros ($8.2 billion).

The deal will be one of the biggest deals in France this year.

“This is the biggest acquisition Bouygues has ever made,” Chief Executive Officer Olivier Roussat said in a statement on Saturday.

The merger between Equans and Bouygues’ Energies & Services arm will create a new standalone business segment with sales of 16 billion euros and 96,000 employees, of which 74,000 will come from Equans.

Chairman Martin Bouygues said in a statement that the acquisition – the biggest Bouygues has ever made – aims to create a new global leader in multi-technical services.