A consortium including private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice and a unit of French insurer AXA (AXAF.PA) has agreed to acquire French engineering group Spie in a deal valuing it at 2.1 billion euros ($3 billion). French private equity group PAI Partners, which said in March it was considering a possible sale of the electrical and mechanical engineering firm, confirmed a deal to sell it to a group including CD&R, Axa Private Equity (AXAF.PA) and Canada's Caisse des Depots du Quebec. Spie said in a statement that the CD&R deal was one of several indications of interest it received and would be positive for the company's prospects because of an employee share ownership scheme that would link pay to performance. Spie's chief executive, Gauthier Louette, had told reporters in March that in the long run he favoured an initial public share offer for the company.
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