Abstract
Created in the aftermath of World War II in 1946, in order to nationalize the electricity and gas on the French territory, Gaz de France initially takes the status of a public industrial and commercial (EPIC), a status that keep it until August 9, 2004, when the law 2004-803 into Limited Company.
Today, with 53,000 employees, Gaz de France is present in 9100 and serves French communes gas to 76% of the population. It has also become an international company, making 36.7% of its turnover outside France. He is qualified operator in 9 countries.
The company has the longest transport network in Europe, with 31 589 km and the longest distribution network in Europe, with 180,700 km.
In financial terms, the turnover of Gaz de France for the year 2007 was 27,427 million euros, an increase of 1.6% compared to 2006. On the other hand, with a market capitalization of 37,131 million at February 20, 2008, Gaz de France is the sixth market capitalization in the European energy sector.
For its part, the Universal Company of the Suez Maritime Canal is a much older society, created by Ferdinand de Lesseps French in 1858, in order to drill and operate the Suez Canal, completed in 1869. This initial activity is however naturally end when Nasser nationalized the canal in 1956, but due to significant compensation received, the company changed its name in 1958, and became "La Compagnie Financière de Suez".
