GBLB Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA

Belgian investor Albert Frere has sold a 2.7% stake in French utility GDF Suez SA (GSZ.FR) for €1 billion, French daily Les Echos reported on its website Tuesday, citing a statement from his company Groupe Bruxelles Lambert(GBLB.BT),

The private placement was reserved for institutional investors, the statement said.

While GBL still holds 2.4% stake in GDF Suez, last month it issued EUR1 billion of bonds that are convertible into shares of GDF at the end of 2017, which could lead to GBL's withrawal from the utility, the newspaper said.

Write to Dennis Baker at dennis.baker@dowjones.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires