It looks as if Jean-Marie Descarpentries just missed the mergers and acquisitions boat at Compagnie des Machines Bull SA, from where he has just stepped down as chairman, because he is quoted in yesterday’s Le Figaro as saying that a large acquisition or merger is on the cards for Bull. He told the French paper that one of his major regrets was not having made a large acquisition since joining the company, still 49%-owned by the French government, in October 1993, but he says, too bad, his successor Guy de Panafieu will be the one to carry it off. He gives no clues as to which company might be involved, but does indicate that France Telecom won’t necessarily sell its stake in Bull, which has risen in the past two years to 17% from 14%.
