PARIS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The board of water and waste management group Suez unanimously considers a bid by larger rival Veolia

Varin told a conference call that Veolia's offer of 18 euros per share for the 70% of Suez it did not own was not equivalent to the potential alternative offer by the Ardian-GIP consortium.

Veolia vowed on Monday to press ahead with its bid for smaller rival Suez despite new legal hurdles and a government warning over the increasingly hostile takeover battle.

(Reporting by Benjamin Mallet, Writing by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Edmund Blair)