We are likely to have to wait until next month to discover who the new owners of Compagnie des Machines Bull SA will be, but in the meantime, its extraordinary general meeting last week approved the capital increase that actually increases the French state’s stake prior to partial privatisation, since it is the only subscriber to a capital increase of some $480m. After the exercise, Bull will have 63.3m shares of 10 francs nominal, of which the state will hold 79.6%, up from 75.8%. France Telecom’s stake drops to 14.3% from 17%, but it will put up $106m in the form of a shareholders advance, which will be added to the share capital during the later privatisation operations. NEC Corp’s stake slips to 3.7% from 4.4% and IBM Corp’s stake falls to 1.8% from 2.1%. At the meeting, Bull said there had been a continued improvement in its results up to the end of November, marking the reversal of four years of revenue decline and losses. Bull made a net loss equivalent to some $956m in 1993 for an accumulated loss of $3,750m since 1990. Bull has also decided to transfer its headquarters to Louveciennes, in the Paris suburbs, from the monumental La Defense wilderness of tower blocks just outside the gates of the city. The company now expects to make an operating profit of between $20m and $55m for 1994 and hopes to make a net profit in the first half of 1995, chairman Jean-Marie Descarpentries said. Once Bull is fully privatised, he plans to recommend to the new institutional and industrial shareholders that they agree to between 10% and 20% of the equity to be offered to the public and traded on the Bourse.
