(BFM Bourse) – These bearers, which largely include employees and former employees, are asking the authority to suspend the examination of the public takeover bid initiated by the State in order to exit the rating the energy group. They point out in a letter the conditions under which the board of directors had decided at the end of October on this proposed takeover bid.
The public purchase offer (OPA) on EDF risks experiencing a hitch. Shareholders of the energy group are asking the AMF (Financial Markets Authority) to “suspend” its decision expected on Tuesday concerning the renationalization of EDF, because they consider themselves aggrieved by the terms of the takeover bid ) carried out by the state, according to a letter of which AFP obtained a copy on Monday.
They indicate that they have summoned EDF before the Paris Commercial Court, an interim hearing scheduled to be held on Monday afternoon and which could put a spoke in the wheel of the procedure.
These shareholders, mostly employees and former employees, and united under the banner of the Fonds Commun de Placement d’Entreprise (FCPE) EDF Actions, with which the association of shareholders Energie en actions has joined, contest the conditions under which the the electrician’s board of directors validated the said takeover bid. Together they represent around 1.5% of the capital, according to a manager of Energies en actions.
AMF decision expected on Tuesday
They consider in particular “that the Board of Directors was not validly convened, insofar as the statutory seven-day convening period, provided for by EDF’s internal regulations, was not respected”.
Another grievance, “all the documents to allow the administrators to decide on the project” (…) “were not sent to the administrators within a reasonable time, since they were received on October 26 between 8 p.m. and 11:02 p.m., less than 12 hours, and during the night, preceding the meeting of the board of directors of EDF”, according to this letter.
The directors had to read in this period of time “more than 500 pages and documents relating to particularly technical financial and legal analyses”, according to the shareholders who denounce “a serious breach of the duty to inform”.
As for the summary proceedings before the commercial court, “insofar as the outcome of this hearing (Monday) will have direct consequences on the follow-up to be given to the Offer, and on the validity of the elements filed with the AMF (by EDF), we ask you to suspend the investigation of the offer by your services pending the decision “of the commercial court, they conclude in their letter to the AMF.
Unless appealed, the AMF’s decision is expected on Tuesday, for an opening of the offer on Thursday and a closing on December 8.
The State-shareholder (which already has 84% of the capital) hopes to obtain, at the close of the takeover bid, 90%, the threshold from which a procedure of compulsory withdrawal from the Stock Exchange can be launched to recover securities.
On October 4, the French State officially launched the process of renationalizing EDF, a 9.7 billion euro operation wanted by the government to relaunch a vast nuclear program after a dark year for the electricity group.
(With AFP)
JM – ©2022 BFM Bourse
Are you following this action?
Receive all the information about EDF in real time: