Nearly two years after the scandal arising from the practices of its former management, Orpea changed shareholders: the group of private nursing homes came under the control of a group led by the Caisse des Dépôts, as part of the procedure which must help it regain financial balance.
(AFP / JULIEN DE ROSA)
This group, made up of the Caisse des Dépôts, the financial arm of the State, Maif, CNP Assurances and MACSF (mutual health professionals) now holds 50.18% of the capital of Orpea, according to the press release released on Tuesday.
The Caisse des Dépôts is “determined” to play “a role as a sustainable, responsible shareholder, determined to develop the Orpea group in all of its businesses”, commented Eric Lombard, general director of the financial arm of the State, cited in the document.
These new shareholders entered the capital of Orpea during a capital increase of 1.16 billion euros, as part of the financial restructuring of the Ehpad group which was burdened by a debt of 9 billion euros. ‘euros.
This operation “saves the company, it will give us the means to continue and accelerate our rebuilding”, underlined to AFP Laurent Guillot, general manager of Orpea, who arrived after the explosion caused by the investigative book by Victor Castanet, “The Gravediggers”.
The work published in January 2022 revealed mistreatment of residents, financial irregularities and failings in the management of human resources, under the former management. The group and former leaders have since been the subject of legal proceedings. At the time, Orpea’s largest shareholder was the Canada Pension Plan Investment Fund (CPPIB), which held approximately 15%.
– “Long term” shareholders –
The arrival today of new “long-term” public and private shareholders is a “guarantee of confidence for our employees, our service providers and the families of residents”, estimated Laurent Guillot, whose group welcomes some 267,000 residents and patients worldwide.
In detail, the Caisse des Dépôts et des Consignations (CDC) acquired 517.9 million euros of shares to hold 22.41% of the group’s capital, Maif invested 342.4 million euros for 14 .81% of the capital, MACSF 171.2 million euros for 7.41% of the capital and CNP Assurances 128.4 million euros for 5.56%.
Unsecured creditors hold 48.84% of the capital.
The remaining 0.98% of the capital corresponds to the float, i.e. the portion of the capital tradable on the stock market.
This operation is part of the group’s safeguard plan. It provides for three successive capital increases to enable Orpea to erase part of its debt and regain better financial health.
Two have therefore taken place and the third will take place in the near future. The financial restructuring is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2024.
Following this takeover, a general meeting of Orpea will be held on Friday. The new shareholders will appoint and vote in favor of new directors for the group, including Philippe Grangeon, the former special advisor to Emmanuel Macron.
– Transformation plan –
Orpea, present in around twenty countries with nursing homes and specialized clinics, found itself in great financial difficulty after the publication of “Gravediggers”.
The group suffered in particular from the strategy of massive real estate purchases carried out by the former management, the rise in interest rates and the collapse of its stock price.
For more than a year, the group, which has more than 76,000 employees, including 28,000 in France, has been carrying out a transformation plan, under the leadership of new management.
“CNP Assurances will ensure that it supports and accelerates the major changes undertaken in the Orpea group, in order to advance the well-being of our seniors and their families, while improving the working conditions of employees,” assured Stéphane Dedeyan , general manager of this insurer, a subsidiary of La Banque Postale.
Orpea has already taken measures to retain its staff (salary increases, training plan, etc.) and intends to concentrate on care work for the elderly.