Australia's Cleanaway Waste Management said on Thursday it had expressed interest in buying the local assets of waste and water management firm Suez should the French company pursue a sale of the business.
Responding to a media report, the Melbourne-based firm said in a statement there was no certainty that the talks with Suez would lead to a deal for its Australian waste management assets.
Suez did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk column on Thursday reported that talks between the two companies had advanced for a deal worth more than A$2 billion ($1.56 billion), citing sources.
The Paris-based firm last week rejected an 11.3 billion euros ($13.62 billion) takeover bid by domestic rival Veolia, saying that the offer threatened its corporate interests and did not bring clear benefits in areas such as innovation.
(Reporting by Shriya Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Aditya Soni)
