This is an expected step in the implementation of its restructuring plan that should lead to a change of shareholder and the cancellation of part of its heavy debt, the company said in a statement.
"The plan is going according to plan. I am extremely confident for the future," Laurent Guillot, the chief executive of Orpea, who took the reins of the company last year, told AFP after the explosion caused by Victor Castanet's investigative book, "Les Fossoyeurs".
Approved in recent weeks by about 51% of unsecured financial creditors, this restructuring plan should allow the group to ensure its "sustainability", said Mr. Guillot. It is a question of turning the page on past excesses - including excessive investments in real estate and internationally - to "dedicate more resources to care, support for residents and patients, and staff," he added.
The plan plans to write off €3.8 billion of the group's debts out of a total of €9.7 billion, converting them into capital, with a ratio of €0.30 of capital to one euro of cancelled debt.
The specialized commercial court of Nanterre, in charge of the file, now has two months, renewable once, to validate this project.
In the meantime, the company's activity continues normally, stressed Mr. Guillot: Orpea will continue to pay its suppliers (health products, protections or food, for example).
In the context of an accelerated safeguard procedure, suppliers' claims are not frozen. "Neither employees, nor residents and patients are impacted by this procedure," Guillot said.
At the end of the process, Orpea will be 50.2% owned by a consortium led by Caisse des Dépôts and including insurers such as CNP Assurances, Maif and MACSF. The plan also provides for all investors to bring 1.55 billion euros of new money to the group, which is present in 22 countries and manages some 350 facilities - retirement homes and clinics - in France.
© 2023 AFP