Toulouse Airport: Communities demand the sequestration of shares in Chinese Casil

Toulouse (AFP)

The local authorities and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Toulouse, which hold 40% of the management company of the airport of Toulouse (ATB) will ask the court of commerce the sequestration of the shares held by the Chinese group Casil.

The regional council, the county council of Haute-Garonne, the metropolis of Toulouse and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) said Monday evening in a press release that they would file "in the coming days" in front of the consular jurisdiction of Toulouse an application "to obtain the sequestration of securities held by the majority shareholder Casil".

They will also ask for "the suspension of its voting rights and the adjournment of the General Meeting of June 6, 2019 which must in particular decide on the approval of the financial statements for the 2018 financial year and the distribution of dividends", states their text .

According to them, the decision of the Court of Appeal of Paris of April 16, which cancels "the procedure of cession by the State to the Casil company of 49.99% of the shares of the capital of ATB, is a factor d? major legal uncertainty at a time when key decisions, including the distribution of dividends, must be taken ".

For several months, local authorities have suspected Casil of seeking only to maximize its dividends at the expense of the financial reserves of the airport.

Communities and the ICC evoke a "context fraught with uncertainty" which pushed them to ask for conservatory measures "to avoid that strategic decisions are taken" whereas according to them it remains "a serious doubt on nearly half votes ".

At the end of March, the Commercial Court of Paris, seized in summary by three unions, had refused the sequestration of the actions of Casil considering that only the State could present such a request.

Casil announced last year that it intends to withdraw from the 49.99% stake in ATB capital it has held since the privatization of the airport in 2015.

In early 2018, the state that still holds 10.01%, decided to retain this stake on which Casil had an option, thus preventing the Chinese shareholder from becoming majority.

? 2019 AFP