Orpea: Creditors and shareholders of Orpea called to vote on the restructuring of the group on June 16

(BFM Bourse) – The house operator also indicated that the AMF had granted an exemption to the group led by Caisse des Dépôts to launch a mandatory takeover bid.

The timetable for the overhaul of Orpea’s finances is becoming clearer. To carry out its financial rescue which aims to reduce its gargantuan debt – with a net debt of 8.8 billion euros at the end of December – the operator of retirement homes placed itself in accelerated judicial safeguard proceedings at the end of March .

As part of this procedure, the court administrators, Hélène Bourbouloux and Thibaut Martinant, have decided to summon the creditors and shareholders of Orpea so that they can decide on the accelerated safeguard project. These votes will thus take place on June 16, announced the operator of retirement homes.

For complete information, Orpea has set up a site dedicated to this restructuring project, which broadly provides for the discharge of 3.8 billion euros of debt via a capital conversion, as well as the taking of control by a group of investors led by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) in exchange for a capital injection of more than 1.3 billion euros.

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AMF waiver

Moreover, Orpea indicated on Saturday that the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) had granted this grouping on May 25 an exemption from the obligation to launch a public purchase offer (OPA), which occurs as soon as an investor exceeds 30% of the capital of a listed company. The Autorité notably based its judgment on the fact that the group is in a “proven situation of financial difficulty”, one of the cases that can effectively justify an exemption.

The granting of this derogation did not surprise Adamo, an association bringing together minority shareholders of Orpea who contest the financial restructuring plan of the company. This association thus evokes a “decision which will have serious consequences”, going so far as to affirm that it would contradict the “right of property” in France.

Recall that the company has repeatedly warned that its financial restructuring would result in a mega-dilution for its holders, located between 99.6% and 99.96%.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, Orpea shares are down 4.2% around 10:20 a.m. and have lost 97.6% of their value since January 2022 and the publication of the survey book The Gravediggersbeginning of a real stock market ordeal for the company.

Last year the company lost more than 4 billion euros, weighed down by heavy depreciation of assets and by the inflation of energy, food and wage costs.

Julien Marion – ©2023 BFM Bourse