SDXAY Sodexo (PK)

By Ambroise Ecorcheville

PARIS--Catering and services company Sodexo SA (SW.FR) announced Wednesday it had signed a 10-year contract worth an estimated A$2.5 billion ($1.86 billion) with mining company Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO.AU)to run all of its assets in Australia's Pilbara region.

Sodexo, whose services include catering, cleaning and property management, said it would provide the full range of services agreed in the contract by the second half of 2016.

"This contract validates our decision to reorganize Sodexo to focus on segments of clients, rather than by geography" at the end of 2015, said Sodexo Chief Executive Michel Landel.

The French company employs some 420,000 people and had a market capitalization of 15 billion euros ($16.65 billion) at Tuesday's close.

(Nick Kostov contributed to this article.)

-Write to Ambroise Ecorcheville at ambroise.ecorcheville@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 16, 2016 02:41 ET (06:41 GMT)

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