Why Was Patrick Blethon Fired From Saur, Five Days After Its Sale Was Called Off?
On October 7, Saur announced that Patrick Blethon was leaving with immediate effect, after nearly seven years leading France's third-largest water company. In June, Menno Holterman and the Nijhuis executive team had already been pushed out, and on October 2, EQT had reportedly dropped its plan to reduce its stake. So I went through what Patrick and Menno built, how Saur paid for that growth, and what remains unfinished now that they are gone.
🌶️ KEY SPICES 🌶️
🗓️ The timeline, from the March 2026 Morgan Stanley mandate to explore selling Saur's municipal business, to Patrick Blethon fired five days after EQT reportedly backed off
🏚️ Bouygues, PAI, a €2.3 billion leveraged buyout and the 2013 debt restructuring: why Saur came to EQT in 2018 wary of debt
🧭 How Patrick Blethon used the loss of Nîmes to Veolia to make Saur less dependent on French municipal water
🏭 Nijhuis, Aqua-Chem and Veolia's Mobile Water Services for about €190 million: the industrial leg that beat its €500 million target a year early
💶 €75 million of capex against €63 million of EBITDA in 2023, net debt up from €1.24 to €1.4 billion, and a 2024 downgrade below investment grade
📉 2025: industrial sales down 9% to €496 million, a cyber incident, and a negative Fitch outlook in May 2026, while the municipal business carried the group
🥜 IN A NUTSHELL 🥜
Why was Patrick Blethon fired from Saur? Saur says its strategy is unchanged, but my reading is that the test applied to that strategy changed: Patrick could point to a bigger group with a real industrial leg, while the shareholders asked when that growth would turn into cash, and into an exit.
Did Patrick Blethon's strategy work? Largely, yes: industrial sales reached €545 million in 2024, a year ahead of the target, and that business cushioned Saur in 2023 when energy costs hit the French municipal side.
Why did a growing Saur need cash? Because industrial contracts and mobile rental fleets are paid for upfront and earn back over time, and rising interest rates made that growth more expensive to finance.
Who replaces Patrick Blethon at Saur? Didier Michaud-Daniel, previously chair of the supervisory committee, becomes executive chairman, and Jean-Paul Michel takes day-to-day responsibility as interim CEO.
What is the point of being third? At home, Saur will always build behind Veolia and SUEZ, so the question is how it grows out of the giants' shadow without growing beyond what its owners are ready to finance.
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