The board of directors of French incumbent Orange has renewed Stephane Richard’s membership term for another four years, paving the way for his re-election as CEO.
This and other resolutions will be proposed to shareholders at the 27 May…
The board of directors of French incumbent Orange has renewed Stephane Richard’s membership term for another four years, paving the way for his re-election as CEO.
This and other resolutions will be proposed to shareholders at the 27 May AGM.
Richard’s future at Orange was cast into doubt in June last year when it was revealed that he was under formal investigation for his alleged role in a fraud case at the French finance ministry.
The ongoing investigation relates to an arbitration case between businessman Bernard Tapie and the Credit Lyonnais bank in 2008. Richard was a close aide to former finance minister Christine Lagarde when the then-government decided to opt for an arbitration, which eventually saw Tapie being awarded €403m in damages.
Lagarde, Richard and Tapie have denied accusations and the Orange CEO’s appeal against preliminary charges is reportedly set to be heard on 10 April.
The Orange board has previously voiced its support for Richard, saying last June that it had decided the situation did not hinder his ability to lead the company as chairman and CEO. At the time, French president Francois Hollande also said the state, which has a 27% stake in the telco, wanted Richard to remain at the helm.
Vivendi to examine Bouygues’ improved offer for SFR
Richard’s renewed board membership comes at a tumultuous time for the French telecoms sector, as conglomerate Vivendi negotiates the sale of its telecoms unit SFR. Vivendi is currently in exclusive talks until 4 April with telecoms holding Altice, which controls cableco Numericable.
However, news emerged that a Vivendi ad hoc committee will meet later today to examine a rival offer from industrial and media group Bouygues, which recently further increased its bid for SFR to €13.15bn. In comparison, Altice has offered €11.75bn. Bouygues is determined to merge its mobile unit Bouygues Telecom with its larger rival to prevent its market share from further declining.
A spokesperson for Vivendi reiterated that the company is in exclusive discussions with Altice for a period of three weeks until the beginning of April.
Whichever company emerges as the successful buyer, the resulting combined entity will place Orange under increased competitive pressure.
