CHRISTINA MACKENZIE / PARIS
Alcatel, the French telecommunications manufacturer, has sold 6.1% of its shareholding in electronics group Thales but still remains the principal private shareholder with 9.7%.
Alcatel has been struggling as revenues from telecoms equipment sales collapse and its satellite business performs poorly. The company raised €314 million ($307 million) from the sale, which it will use to reduce its c1.3 billion debts.
Thales says the sale "has significantly increased our free-float, from 45% to 52%," a situation it finds "very satisfactory". Being more widely traded will make it easier to obtain new investment.
Thales' share price was down from €33 on 24 September to €30 at close of business on 25 September after the 10.3 million shares were placed with institutional investors by SG Investment Banking.
Thales says the sale does not break the agreement signed in 1998 by Alcatel and the Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault (GIMD), the family trust that owns Dassault Aviation, Belgian aerospace company SABCA, Dassault Falcon Jet and other companies. Under the agreement, GIMD had first option on Alcatel's Thales shares.
GIMD says the shareholders' agreement has been maintained - it chose not to take up the option. "This confirms that we are not interested in increasing our share of Thales' capital," GIMD says. Its share stays at 5.9% while the French state share remains at 32.6%.
Alcatel Space has announced it will cut 400 jobs in the first half of 2003, from a workforce of 5,200. It also plans to convert its Valence plant to other work.Source: Flight International
