PARIS, July 15, 2008 (AFP) - French groups Suez and GDF will on Wednesday finally merge to form GDF Suez, a giant energy utility with interests spanning the globe when both sets of shareholders vote on the deal.

The vote is expected to go smoothly, with the deal having already been cleared by management to form a top global energy force while spinning off a world-class utilities group.

The arrangement, which has been through many delays and redrafting to take account of political sensitivities, amounts to the privatisation of GDF. Suez is also spinning off its environment utilities, with the effect of reducing the weight of privately owned Suez in the new GDF Suez.

Suez shareholders will end up with 55 percent of the new entity, to be called GDF Suez, and GDF shareholders with 45 percent. The state will be the biggest single shareholder with 35.6 percent and a golden veto share.

Suez is capitalised at about 62 billion euros (95.5 billion dollars) and GDF at 43.1 billion euros. In 2007, they made combined net profit of 5.6 billion euros and had sales of 74.3 billion euros and debt of 15.8 billion euros.