Sodexo shares rise as services firm signs Huawei deal

Sodexo shares were trading higher Wednesday, as the French services and catering firm announced it had signed an agreement with Chinese tech firm Huawei. The deal was struck during French President Emmanuel Macron’s three-day state visit.

By 1305 BST, Sodexo shares were trading 0.36% higher at €110.15. Huawei shares ended the Asian trading session 1.38% lower.

Global deal boost for Sodexo

The deal between the two firms was signed in the presence of Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of Economy and Finance, and Zhong Shan, Minister of Commerce for the People’s Republic of China.

The deal means Sodexo is now Huawei’s preferred partner when considering integrated facilities management planning, on a global scale.

Sodexo and Huawei have an existing partnership that covers 12 countries. This new, global deal is a five-year agreement and comes as Huawei’s IFM plans total $400 million.

“The enhanced strategic cooperation between Huawei and Sodexo will benefit both companies,” said Sodexo chairwoman, Sophie Bellon.

“We share concerns about industry's impact on the environment and people’s quality of life. Our companies will work together to build energy efficient facilities and take measures to conserve energy and reduce emissions for Huawei’s offices in China and around the world,” Bellon added.

Huawei’s chairwoman was equally upbeat on the deal: “As a global leading ICT solutions provider, Huawei will leverage its latest technologies in domains like IoT and cloud computing to help Sodexo accelerate its digital transformation, helping to provide its customers with more competitive services while reducing investment and O&M expenses,” Huawei’s chairwoman Sun Yafang said.

Sodexo news follows collapse of Huawei, AT&T deal

The new deal between the Sodexo and Huawei, comes soon after a potential deal between the Chinese communications firm and AT&T failed to be finalised.

Huawei had been working with AT&T to sell its new smartphone through the US wireless and internet provider. However, according to a Reuters report, members of the US Senate expressed strong security concerns over doing business with Huawei.