(CercleFinance.com) – Several minority shareholders of the Gascogne group, the main player in the timber industry in France, announced this week that they would join forces in an association, with the support of Franco-American financier Guy Wyser-Pratte.
In a press release published on Tuesday, the association of minority shareholders of Gascogne (AAMSG) explains that it wants to defend the interests of minority investors and preserve the value of their holdings.
Initially, the AAMSG sent a letter to the president of the company, Dominique Coutière, with a view to raising a certain number of questions concerning the principles of governance and management of the company, but also about its valuation on the stock market.
An initiative hailed by Guy Wyser-Pratte, who invested in Gascogne more than 12 years ago and who now holds 2.5% of the company’s capital.
In a press release, the businessman said in particular that he wondered about the terms and conditions for allocating the ‘ORAN’ bonds to the company Biolandes Technologies, the family holding company of the Coutière family, at an advantageous price of 2.5 euros.
From Wyser-Pratte’s point of view, this price is disconnected from the market while the net asset value per share as of December 31, 2021 amounted to 6.5 euros and the stock market price is now around 3 .5 euros.
For these reasons, the financier says he plans to ask a number of written questions at the next meeting.
On the Paris Stock Exchange, Gascony shares fell 2.2% on Thursday morning following these latest developments.