These are two small companies, based in Mennecy (Essonne) and Lyon, but they have benefited, in recent months, from great attention from the ministries of the economy and the armies. And for good reason: Segault (80 employees) and Velan SAS (280 employees) supply the valves for the boiler rooms of Naval Group’s nuclear submarines and EDF’s nuclear power plants.
Bercy announced on Friday October 6 that these SMEs integrated into the Canadian company Velan, currently being acquired by the Texan Flowserve Corporation, would not go under the American flag. Informed a few hours earlier of the French veto, the Irving (Texas) company decided to abandon negotiations with Velan, whose shareholder family now has two options: keep the two subsidiaries or sell them, but to a French buyer.
Segault was subject to the “foreign investment control procedure”. An automatic approach when a non-European industrialist or financier wants to acquire at least 10% of the voting rights of a listed French company (or 25% of the voting rights of an unlisted company) working in a strategic sector. However, the government judged that the commitments made by the multinational Flowserve were not sufficient to eliminate all risks.
Strengthened control of foreign investments
The affair had taken a political turn, especially on the right and the extreme right. In May, in response to a question from a National Rally deputy, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, warned that the State would oppose “a loss of operational control” of the company. Two months earlier, Arnaud Montebourg, former minister of productive recovery (2012-2014) during François Hollande’s five-year term, had written to the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, to demand the maintenance of SMEs within the French fold.
The State and companies in the defense industrial and technological base know that it is risky to have American suppliers. Washington can request information from an American company or its foreign subsidiaries without judicial authorization. The ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) system governs exports of military equipment incorporating components, subassemblies or software of American origin or license. Furthermore, the energy department can impose its regulations and slow down the export of French nuclear technologies. Difficult to accept when we know that Velan SAS equips EDF’s 56 French reactors and three-quarters of the world’s power plants.
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