"It is with regret that we announced to the commercial court that we were abandoning our draft continuation plan," communications director Franck Geretzhuber said in a statement to AFP.

"We are very happy... It was surreal to make an offer when he did not have a penny in his pocket, "responded Christophe Lavalle, delegate Force ouvrière and member of the CSE of Go Sport while the 2,200 employees have been worried for several months about their future.

"We are victims of Michel Ohayon's mismanagement, not of the economic situation," he told AFP, assuring that no concrete plan had ever been presented to employees.

According to HPB, it was the procedure adopted by the judicial administrators that "had the consequence of preventing the conclusion of the discussions we had with a partner in the world of sport, strongly interested in our continuation project". "In this case, we have been put in the works since the beginning," Geretzhuber told AFP.

Because of this withdrawal, the court will devote Tuesday to the study of the twenty offers to take over the activities of the brand that the holding Hermione People & Brands had bought in 2021 for a symbolic euro.

On March 10, the day the takeover offers closed, HPB announced its intention to remain in control. At the same time, its management had tried to challenge the decision of receivership pronounced on January 19 by the commercial court by claiming not to be in a state of cessation of payments.

Cessation of payments

But his appeal was rejected last week by the Grenoble Court of Appeal. "The company Groupe Go Sport is in a state of cessation of payments on the date when the Court of Appeal rules," says the judgment which reports a lack of available assets of about 30 million euros on March 23.

The withdrawal of HPB comes as the group of Bordeaux businessman Michel Ohayon is going through a difficult time. After the liquidation of the Camaïeu brand (2,600 employees) last September, the group's holding company, the Financière immobilière bordelaise (FIB), declared itself insolvent, the Gap brand (350 employees) recently bought by Go Sport was placed in receivership and 25 Galeries Lafayette stores were put in safeguard proceedings.

Businessman Michel Ohayon, September 28, 2022 in Tourcoing (Nord). © DENIS CHARLET / AFP/Archives

The Paris prosecutor's office has opened a judicial investigation for "organized gang fraud, habitual money laundering, bankruptcy and abuse of social good", as an extension of an investigation opened in Grenoble following "several revelations of criminal facts" reported by HPB's auditors.

One-upmanship

Among the twenty or so applications for the takeover of Go Sport, two offers emerge: that of the Intersport group France backed by a Qatari company, and that of the British Frasers, via its company Sports Direct. "Two very serious offers, with a limited social breakdown", in the opinion of the FO delegate.

In a form of outbidding, the two improved their offer at the limit of the time allowed to modify the proposals, according to the file that AFP was able to consult at the registry. The decision of the commercial court on the assignment will be reserved.

The parent company Groupe Go Sport brings together the activities of the distributor's headquarters, near Grenoble, and 46 master franchise stores internationally. Its subsidiary Go Sport France brings together 82 integrated stores, 87 franchised stores (Go Sport and Endurance Shop) as well as online sales.

In terms of sales, the Go Sport Group weighs a little more than 7 million in turnover over the year 2021, and Go Sport France a little more than 350 million euros, according to the announcement of the judicial administrators.

© 2023 AFP