The Financial Markets Authority (AMF) announced on Monday that it had validated the public withdrawal offer from Bouygues targeting its subsidiary Colas, of which the construction giant already holds 96.81% of the capital.
(AFP / LUDOVIC MARIN)
Bouygues wants to acquire some 1.03 million shares of Colas, specializing in infrastructure construction, which it does not yet hold for 175 euros per share.
The AMF “declared the draft public withdrawal offer compliant,” it said in a press release.
Bouygues announced in mid-September the plan to withdraw from the Stock Exchange, leading to the resignation of the CEO of Colas, Frédéric Gardès, because this “plan to remove Colas from the stock market” as well as the announcement of a dissociation of the functions of president and of general director “did not correspond to his personal expectations”.
On the Paris Stock Exchange, the stock has been trading at around 174 euros since this announcement, whereas it was worth around 113 euros previously.
Bouygues, which “already meets the holding conditions relating to the squeeze-out”, has asked to be able to “proceed with the squeeze-out as soon as the public squeeze-out offer closes”, details the AMF.
A subsidiary specializing in road and railway works, Colas achieved a turnover of 15.5 billion euros last year (out of 44.3 billion for the entire Bouygues conglomerate), for a net profit share of group of 301 million euros.
This operation “is part of an operation to simplify the capital structure of Colas and the Bouygues group”, explained the construction giant.
Bouygues has appointed Pascal Grangé as non-executive chairman of the board of directors of Colas and Pierre Vanstoflegatte as chief executive officer.
The timetable for the public withdrawal offer will be communicated later, the AMF said on Monday.