The two heavyweights of the economy have been battling for months to buy the 89% stake held by the group of businessman Bernard Tapie, who died in October, in La Provence and Corse-Matin, the 850 employees leaving them in a complicated blur.

The Marseille commercial court had suspended at the beginning of January the shareholders' pact offering a right of veto to NJJ, the holding company of the founder of Free Xavier Niel, already holder of 11% of La Provence, on any candidate for the acquisition of 89% of the Group. Bernard Tapie (GBT), in compulsory liquidation since 2020.

On Monday, the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal will examine Xavier Niel's appeal.

If the court confirms the suspension of its right of veto, "there is no longer a photo and the transfer is made for the benefit of CMA CGM", even if "NJJ benefits from a right of preemption" which it may possibly do claim later, estimated Me Bernard Vatier, lawyer for the liquidator, interviewed by AFP.

If, on the contrary, the court judges that NJJ's right of veto must be maintained, the board of directors of La Provence could refuse entry into the capital of CMA CGM "by offering the shares to another shareholder", according to Mr. Vatier .

It would then be necessary that he “implement an expert procedure to assess the market value of this participation”, he specifies.

And to warn against a "standoff": "The liquidators will not submit" a new offer other than that of CMA CGM to the judge-commissioner, "considering that this is a situation which causes them prejudice ".

The global shipping giant has indeed put 81 million euros on the table to buy Bernard Tapie's shares in La Provence, against only "around" 20 million euros for Xavier Niel's group.

However, the judicial liquidation aims to reap the maximum from the sale of the assets of the Bernard Tapie Group to pay the creditors.

"Stuck between two billionaires"

The judgment of the Court of Appeal, which should be made within a month, will be delivered after the meeting of a crucial board of directors, which must be held by the end of April, during which NJJ therefore retains its right to precautionary veto.

To be validated, CMA CGM's offer, the only one retained by the liquidator because it was the "best price", must be unanimously approved by the five directors: the two representatives of Avenir Développement (the subsidiary of NJJ), the son of Bernard Tapie, Stéphane Tapie, Franz-Olivier Giesbert and the CEO of La Provence, Jean-Christophe Serfati.

the founder of the telecommunications operator Free, Xavier Niel, on July 5, 2021 in Paris Eric PIERMONT AFP / Archives

However, it is difficult to imagine that NJJ renounces to use its veto, despite pressure from the liquidator.

Especially since, a source familiar with the matter told AFP, Xavier Niel would be ready to mobilize the full range of legal remedies in order to enforce the rights offered to him by the shareholders' pact.

CMA CGM's offer, the only one that could be submitted to them legally, was approved on Thursday by the six works councils of La Provence, who hailed an "economically viable project" for their titles, "supported by massive investment. ".

But it does not satisfy all the staff.

"It's complicated for employees to find themselves stuck between two billionaires", summarizes Élise Brand, lawyer for the CSE of the newspaper La Provence.

"We are asking real questions about the viability and sustainability of the project", abounds Didier Ponce, union representative of FO Livre.

Like the CFE-CGC, FO Livre and the CGT, the CFDT would have preferred to be able to compare the two takeover offers.

"From the outset, CMA CGM's strategy has been to try to compensate for the handicap it has compared to NJJ, due to the right of approval, by winning the support of the staff representatives as much as possible. had a lot of very positive announcements, a bit like Santa Claus, but we had the feeling that it was only to convince us", underlines Marie-Cécile Bérenger, CFDT representative.

© 2022 AFP