François Pinault, the veteran French corporate raider, has agreed to buy the environmental services arm of French conglomerate Suez for €18bn ($22.6bn) if Italian power group Enel makes a hostile bid for Suez, the Financial Times’ French sister newspaper, Les Echos, has learned.

Mr Pinault, via his family holding company Artemis, has secured financing to buy the water, waste and energy services business of Suez to back a secret deal signed with Enel in June.