All of the offers from prospective Compagnie des Machines Bull SA shareholders were in Wednesday night last week, and the government had to assert that it had received several offers from various industrial groups of the first order for stakes in the company after newspapers speculated that in the end only NEC Corp had put in a firm bid. Les Echos reported on Friday that IPC Corp Ltd and Sequent Computer Systems Inc had dropped out of the talks and sources close to the discussions said the state would not succeed in reducing its stake to below 50% in one go, but would launch a second tender offer for those industrial and financial investors willing to take a stake of up to 10%. The Privatisation Commission must make its choice within the next 60 days. The offer or offers submitted on Wednesday specify if the candidate is applying alone or in concert with other companies, the size of the stake envisioned and the industrial strategy. The administration of the next President of the French Republic could have a say in the choice, as the President will be elected on May 7 and the commission’s choice is scheduled for May 15. But it is highly unlikely that the Socialist party will return, and neither a Jacques Chirac nor an Edouard Balladur administration would change the privatisation commission’s decision. Whichever company the government chooses, it would like to get rid of at least 51% of Bull and is said to have considered several stages to achieve that goal. One scenario, says Les Echos, would be to appoint the shareholders officially, but wait until Bull reports its first half results before making them ante up.
