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☆ Renault chooses banks for planned listing of electric car unit Ampere - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 20 (Reuters) - French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) has picked BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and JPMorgan (JPM.N) among the investment banks slated to work on the planned listing of its electric car business, Ampere, a source close to the matter said on Thursday. The three banks will act as joint global coordinators on the initial public offering (IPO) of Ampere, the source said. Renault aims to list Ampere in Paris this year, depending on market conditions. Renault's management has not yet given a valuation for the unit, saying it was up to the market to do so. Renault declined to comment on the names or roles of the banks picked for the planned listing.

PARIS, April 18 (Reuters) - French shipping group CMA CGM (CMACG.UL) is offering 5 billion euros ($5.48 billion) for the logistics unit of Bollore, the family-run conglomerate said on Tuesday. For Bollore a deal would mean cutting ties with its biggest business while offering cash-rich CMA CGM a chance to bolster its bid to offer end-to-end transportation services and supply chain management. Bollore said in a statement that it had agreed to enter into exclusive talks with CMA CGM until May 8. CMA CGM, privately controlled by the founding Saade family, has seen its earnings surge in the past two years on high freight rates and saturated supply chains. Bollore, run by the family of billionaire Vincent Bollore, sold its Bollore Africa Logistics business last year to shipping company MSC Group for 5.7 billion euros.

☆ Vivendi to sell celebrity magazine Gala to win EU approval for Lagardere bid -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 11 (Reuters) - French media giant Vivendi (VIV.PA) is set to commit to selling celebrity magazine Gala in a bid to win the European Commission's approval for the acquisition of Lagardere (LAGA.PA), a source close to the matter said on Tuesday. The commitment to the European Commission's antitrust services will be made on Wednesday, the source added. The pledged sale of Gala would be the latest remedy offered by Vivendi, controlled by billionaire Vincent Bollore, as it seeks to secure the takeover of Lagardere's flagship weekly publications Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and Paris Match. Last month Vivendi said it was in talks to sell its publishing division Editis to billionaire Daniel Kretinsky to allay EU antitrust worries, as Lagardere is home to Hachette, the world's third-biggest publishing group. Reporting by Kate Entringer; writing by Mathieu Rosemain; editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The sources said one possibility that has been considered would see Amundi (AMUN.PA) spinning off its Italian operations into a separate company, in which UniCredit (CRDI.MI) could buy a stake. Azimut had 83 billion euros of assets under management (AUMs) at the end of February. Amundi, which is 69% owned by Credit Agricole, ranks third in Italy with 214 billion euros of AUMs as of end-February. UniCredit had 194 billion euros of AUMs at group level in December. "Extracting further value from partnerships on asset management, protection and payments remains another focus," they added.

As part of the overhaul announced in October, it is seeking to spin off merger advice and leveraged finance into a new entity named Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), for which it has been seeking buyers. Credit Suisse is most valuable in separate parts, and there are high-level M&A talks taking place, said a senior banker who advises banks on deals. TAKEOVERSelling off parts of Credit Suisse could require time, which markets may not give. The two have complementary investment banking businesses -Credit Suisse is stronger in credit and UBS in equities. However, some have faith that Credit Suisse can still make it safely to the end of the tight rope.

☆ Eiffage CEO de Ruffray put forward as SocGen board candidate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, March 10 (Reuters) - Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) said on Friday that its board will propose that shareholders elect Eiffage (FOUG.PA) Chief Executive Officer Benoit de Ruffray as an independent board director at its general meeting in May. Three other board appointments will be put to the vote at the meeting on May 23. If elected by SocGen's shareholders, the four new board members will replace outgoing CEO Frederic Oudea, Kyra Hazou, Gerard Mestrallet and Juan Maria Nin Genova. These board appointment proposals come on the heel of a top management reshuffle proposed by Krupa, who is also set to formally take the reins of the French lender on May 23. Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

PARIS, March 5 (Reuters) - Industrial action in France over the government's planned pensions overhaul will cause heavy disruption to public transport again on Tuesday, the transport minister and several public transport authorities said on Sunday. Some unions, such as the hardline CGT, called for a rolling strike at refineries and at the national railway operator SNCF. "We are moving up a gear," the head of CGT, Philippe Martinez, told French weekly JDD. It is up to him to withdraw this reform," he said, referring to President Emmanuel Macron. RATP, the public transport operator for the Ile-de-France region around Paris, also said metro lines and suburban trains will be heavily disrupted, with some metro lines only running at peak hours.

☆ Euronext pulls $5.8 billion offer to buy Allfunds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Euronext withdraws cash and shares bidDue to insufficient synergies, share price decline - sourceEuronext shares jump, but Allfunds shares slumpPARIS, March 1 (Reuters) - Euronext (ENX.PA) has withdrawn its 5.5 billion euro ($5.8 billion) indicative offer to buy fund distribution firm Allfunds (ALLFG.AS), boosting the exchange operator's shares while sending Allfunds' lower. Allfunds subsequently entered into discussions on terms with Euronext but no agreement was reached and discussions have been terminated," Allfunds said on Wednesday, after Euronext withdrew its offer. Allfunds' shares slumped around 13% to 7.21 euros in early trading, while Euronext shares rose around 5%. "Allfunds shares were trading around 7.20 euros before news of Euronext's unsolicited indicative offer became public. But Euronext shares did not respond well, falling by around 10% over the last week.

☆ BNP Paribas aims to raise age limit for chairman -filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The French lender will put a resolution to shareholders seeking to raise the age limit of its non-executive chairman role to 75 from 72, according a formal notice filed on Monday to authorities. BNP Paribas will also ask shareholders allow the board, once the 75 age threshold is reached, to prolong the chairman's mandate by an additional year. Born in 1950, Lemierre was named BNP Paribas' chairman in 2014, replacing Baudouin Prot. He's a former president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and led the French Treasury between 1995 and 2000. Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ AXA lifts 2023 targets as full-year earnings miss expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Blames fall in valuation of bond assetsRaises 2023 earnings growth guidanceAnnounces 1.1 billion-euro share bay-back programPARIS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - French insurer AXA (AXAF.PA) posted lower-than-expected full-year earnings on Thursday as the rise in interest rates weighed on the valuation of its bond assets but raised its 2023 targets. Europe's second-biggest insurer after Germany's Allianz (ALVG.DE) said net income fell by 8% year-on-year to 6.7 billion euros ($7.12 billion) in 2022. Gross revenues over the year were up 2% to 102.3 billion euros, in line with the Refinitiv analyst consensus estimate. AXA yet raised its 2023 guidance, saying it now targeted an underlying earnings per share growth above 7%, up from a previous target of a growth in the high end of its 3% to 7% range by 2023. It also announced a share buy-back programme of up to 1.1 billion euros this year and a dividend of 1.70 per share, up 10% from 2021.

"BNP Paribas continues to write new blank cheques to the largest fossil fuel companies without setting any conditions for an oil-free, gas-free ecological transition," said Alexandre Poidatz, advocacy officer at Oxfam France. In a statement sent to Reuters, BNP said it regretted the advocacy groups chose litigation over dialogue and that it could not stop all fossil-fuel financing right away. "We're convinced that the ecological transition is the only viable path for the future of our economies," it said. "We are focused on our fossil-fuel exit path, accelerating financing for renewable energies and supporting our customers, without whom the transition cannot be made." No court in France has yet forced a firm to change its ways on the basis of this law.

☆ Hedge fund manager Chris Hohn demands Airbus drop Atos deal - letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Hedge fund manager Christopher Hohn has written to Airbus (AIR.PA) demanding it drop a deal to purchase a minority stake in French IT consulting firm Atos' (ATOS.PA) soon-to-be spun-off division Evidian. Hohn, who runs hedge fund TCI Fund Management, owns over 3% of Airbus' shares worth more than 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion), the letter said. If successful, the deal would give Airbus some say over Evidian, which groups Atos' most coveted assets such as cybersecurity division BDS and supercomputers. Hohn, in the letter, said if the deal goes through Airbus should disclose what it would spend to pay down any debt or other liabilities of Atos. Airbus shares were down 2% in afternoon trading, while Atos' shares were down 0.3%.

The reported group net income for the three months ending in December came at 1.16 billion euros ($1.24 billion), beating the analyst consensus of 834 million euros provided by Visible Alpha. SocGen's quarterly net income was however 35% lower than the same period a year ago, as the bank's hiked provisions for failing loans, which increased by close to fivehold to 413 millions in an uncertain economic environment. Group revenues were up by 4% to 6.89 billion euros in the fourth quarter, also beating the Visible Alpha consensus. Like its bigger French rival BNP Paribas(BNPP.PA), SocGen is enjoying higher revenues from debt and trading in volatile markets. It plans a 440 million-euro share buyback in 2023, on top of a cash dividend of 1.70 euro per share.

Global markets revenue jumped by about 24% in October-December, the euro zone's biggest bank said on Tuesday, fuelled by a 45% leap in revenue from trading in commodity derivatives, rates, foreign exchange and emerging markets. BNP's 45% sales growth in FICC trading (fixed income, commodities, currencies) compared with 25% growth at peers, analysts at Barclays said. Shares in BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) were up as much as 4% by 1432 GMT on Tuesday, outperforming the euro zone bank index (.SX7E) and valuing the group at more than 78 billion euros ($83 billion). "These are upward revisions that are quite significant and not so frequent," Bonnafe told reporters in a call. BNP Paribas' net income fell by 6.7% to 2.15 billion euros.

RAISED TARGETSBNP's solvency ratio has notably benefited from the $16.3 billion sale of the group's U.S. retail business Bank of the West. The transaction, closed on Feb. 1, will fund the bulk of the share buyback, that will be carried out in two tranches. Recent central bank rate hikes are set to bolster earnings from loans, especially if the spectre of a recession on the continent recedes. "We are setting ambitious financial targets and pursuing our technological advances," Chief Executive Jean-Laurent Bonnafé said. ($1 = 0.9326 euros)Writing by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Ingrid Melander, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

PARIS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - French investment firm Eurazeo (EURA.PA) ousted Chief Executive Virginie Morgon on Monday and named a new executive board following a row with the group's number one shareholder, the Decaux family, a source close to the matter said. Jean-Charles Decaux, Eurazeo's chairman, pushed for the decision after a number of matters caused friction between Morgon and the Decaux family, which owns 18% of Eurazeo, the source said. A spokesperson for Jean-Charles Decaux, who is also co-CEO of JCDecaux (JCDX.PA), the world's biggest outdoor advertising firm, declined to comment. In a statement Jean-Charles Decaux, Eurazeo's supervisory board president, called the newly appointed executive board "collegial" and "focused". ($1 = 0.9298 euros)Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rothschild family plans to take its Paris-listed investment bank private
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Plan to be submitted to shareholders on May 25Shares jump by 17% in early tradingPARIS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The Rothschild family is seeking to take its Paris-listed investment bank private, Rothschild & Co (ROTH.PA) said on Monday, sending the shares up by almost 17%. Concordia, the family-owned holding and Rothschild & Co's largest shareholder, is poised to file a tender offer for the investment bank's shares at 48 euros each, Rothschild said in a statement. The price represents a premium of 19% compared to Rothschild & Co's previous closing stock price as of Friday, at 40.25 euros. The Rothschild family owns about 55% of the company's shares, according to Refinitiv. Rothschild & Co said it would further inform the market on the private ownership plan on Feb. 13, when it reports full-year results.

☆ France fines TikTok $5.4 mln for online tracking shortcomings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Jan 12 (Reuters) - France on Thursday fined TikTok 5 million euros ($5.4 million) for shortcomings linked to the short video platform's handling of online tracking known as "cookies", which the ByteDance-owned company said it had now addressed. The CNIL found that for tiktok.com's users, it was not as easy to refuse online trackers as to accept them. The authority also found that internet users were not sufficiently informed about TikTok's use of the cookies. "The CNIL itself highlighted our cooperation during the course of the investigation and user privacy remains a top priority for TikTok," the spokesperson added. Under European Union rules, websites must clearly ask for the prior consent of internet users for any use of cookies - small pieces of data stored while navigating on the Web.

☆ French video game maker Ubisoft increases writedowns and lowers targets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Plans 200 million-euro cost cuts, staff reductionCuts quarterly, full-year sales targetsPARIS, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Ubisoft (UBIP.PA) is increasing its writedown estimate to 500 million euros ($538 million) and cutting its full-year revenue target after ending 2022 with weaker-than-expected sales, the French video game maker said on Wednesday. Ubisoft cited the deteriorating economy, marked by lower spending on non-essential goods, to explain the acceleration of the depreciation, previously targeted at 400 million euros. Duguet declined to elaborate on the size of the staff reduction, which will be made through attrition, the company said. Net bookings in the third quarter are now expected at 725 million euros, down from a previous estimate of 830 million euros. Ubisoft said it was targeting operating income of around 400 million euros for fiscal 2023-2024, after taking into account the less favourable economic environment.

☆ France to impose mandatory COVID tests for travellers from China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Dec 30 (Reuters) - France will require travellers from China to provide a negative COVID-19 test result less than 48 hours before departure, the health and transport ministries said on Friday. The test will be required on all flights from China, including flights with stopovers. Travellers on airplanes arriving from China will also have to wear masks. From Jan. 1, France will also carry out random PCR COVID tests upon arrival on some travellers coming from China, a government official told reporters. South Korea and Spain on Friday joined a growing list of countries, including the United States, India and others, which have imposed COVID tests for travellers from China.

Zhevago was arrested on Tuesday evening at the Courchevel ski resort in the French Alps, the official said, adding that Ukraine sought the businessman's extradition. The 48-year-old will appear before the appeals court of Chambery in southeastern France on Jan. 5, the official said. Ferrexpo, whose shares fell around 5% on the news of its controlling shareholder's arrest, did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The company had a market capitalisation of just above 1 billion pounds ($1.20 billion) as of Wednesday. In 2021 Ukraine's DBR reported that Zhevago had been put on an international wanted list in connection with the investigation into Finance & Credit Bank, which the former lawmaker had indirectly controlled.

☆ Apple fined 1 mln euros by Paris court over App Store practices
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Layli Foroudi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The Paris Commercial Court on Monday fined iPhone maker Apple (AAPL.O) just over 1 million euros ($1.06 million) for imposing abusive commercial clauses on French app developers for access to the company's App Store, the court ruling showed. While tiny in size compared to the huge profits generated by Apple, the Paris court's fine is another sign of the legal pressures Apple faces to loosen its grip over the App Store, so far the only gateway for alternative app developers to access customers. An Apple spokesman said the U.S. company would review the ruling and believed "in vibrant and competitive markets where innovation can flourish." "Through the App Store, we’ve helped French developers of all sizes share their passion and creativity with users around the world while creating a secure and trusted place for customers," the spokesman added. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) in particular will force Apple and fellow tech giant Google to provide space for third-party app stores on their respective iOS and Android devices.

The article was one of a series of reports this year by the news agency on Binance's financial compliance and relationship with regulators across the world. Reuters also asked representatives of the local Binance units and affiliates about their relationship with the main Binance exchange. In Italy, Binance's public corporate filings detail just the unit's capital base and its ownership by a separate Binance company in Ireland. The Italian company, Binance Italy S.R.L., has its listed address in a block of shops and apartments in the southern city of Lecce. Just two of the Binance units analysed by Reuters offer more substantial details in their filings.

☆ Apple fined 1 million euros by Paris court over App Store practices
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Layli Foroudi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

☆ Apple should face 6 mln euro fine, adviser to French privacy watchdog says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Mathieu Rosemain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) should face a 6 million euro ($6.3 million) fine for breach of privacy rules, the top adviser to French data protection authority's sanction body recommended on Monday. CNIL's sanction body is free to ignore the rapporteur's recommendations, but these typically carry a lot of weight regarding the watchdog's final decision. Apple's privacy updates, called App Tracking Transparency, give users the option to block apps from tracking activity across apps and websites owned by other companies. He added that changes made under a subsequent version of Apple's operating system, iOS 15, allowed for such prior consent. Gary Davis, Apple's head of privacy, contested the rapporteur's conclusions at the hearing, saying the U.S. firm was committed to the protection of users' privacy.

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