Less than three weeks after the death of its main shareholder Bernard Tapie, appetites are sharpening around Provence. NJJ, the holding company of businessman Xavier Niel, founder of Free and individual shareholder of the Le Monde group, formalized this Thursday, October 21 during an extraordinary social and economic committee (CSE), held in Marseille, his intention to take the helm of the press group.
“In accordance with our discussions with Bernard Tapie, we recently confirmed to the various stakeholders our desire to assert our rights under the shareholders’ agreement between GBT [Groupe Bernard Tapie] and NJJ “ explains Anthony Maarek, representative of Mr. Niel, in a press release read to the CSE by the CEO of Provence, Jean-Christophe Serfati. Owner since 2019 of 11% of the capital of the Marseille newspaper, Xavier Niel had negotiated with the former president of the OM, a right of first refusal on the remaining 89% held by GBT, as well as an approval clause, allowing him to refuse any new entry. It is this right that NJJ intends to put into action quickly.
However, the takeover process could prove to be more complex, in particular because of the legal situation of Bernard Tapie’s companies. Since April 2020 and the cancellation of the arbitration in the Crédit lyonnais case, condemning the businessman to reimburse some 400 million euros to the State, these companies, including the La Provence group, have been placed under the supervision of a judicial liquidator, attached to the commercial court of Bobigny, and whose objective is to enhance the value of GBT’s assets.
A beautiful horizon
During the CSE, the administrator who manages Provence, Frédéric Avazéri, confirmed that the sale of shares held by GBT in the company would be subject to a ” competitive process », Explaining to the staff representatives that a call for tenders had to be launched quickly. A first date for submitting bids from November 30, 2021. According to the CGC-Journalists, the value of the company was estimated between 45 and 60 million euros by a first appraisal. A second analysis should take place in the coming days.
The CSE meeting also confirmed that Xavier Niel was no longer the only candidate for the takeover. As an article by The letter a, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA-CGM group, one of the world leaders in maritime transport and logistics, sent a letter of interest to the bankruptcy liquidator of the Bernard Tapie group. This great Marseille boss expresses his intention to participate in the call for tenders.
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