Shareholders of Groupe Bull SA approved IBM Corp’s paying $100m for 5.68% of Compagnie des Machines Bull SA, leaving the ownership split 72.03% with the French government; 16.17% with France Telecom; 5.68% with IBM and 4.43% with NEC Corp; just 1.69% of the company’s shares publicly traded; new chairman Bernard Pache said his first priority will be to restore Bull to profitability while also maintaining its research and development expenditure levels to ensure the company’s long-term future.
