The surprise joint bid for a large stake in Bull by the signals holding company and the dominant US telephone company has put the kibosh on a Franco-Italian major deal that had been cooking also been cooking quietly. Discussions between Cerus SA, Carlo De Benedetti’s French holding company, and Quadral SA for Cerus to take a stake in Compagnie des Signaux SA have been suspended following Quadral’s partnering with AT&T Corp for a stake in Compagnie des Machines Bull SA. Following its capital increase of some $162m early this year, Cerus, which owns 29% of auto parts maker Valeo, has made known its intent to invest in a new industrial sector in which we can add value in terms of our competences. A Cerus spokeswoman confirms that, before Quadral bid for a 40% stake in Bull, it was interested in Quadral’s main company Compagnie des Signaux, which specialises in signaling for the transport, railway, telecommunications and defense sectors. Cerus envisioned exchanging some property assets for the Quadral shares held by Alain Dumenil, a friend of Compagnie des Signaux president Yazid Sabeg and one of four shareholders in the group that also includes Sabeg. That transaction would have given Cerus between 10% and 15% of Quadral, in which insurance company GAN and Credit National are also shareholders. It’s not surprising that Cerus was interested in Compagnie des Signaux. Since Sabeg took charge of the company in 1991, he has consolidated its holdings in the defence sector, buying back stakes from Finmeccanica SpA and Schneider SA, increased its capital funds and restored health to its balance sheet. The company expects a 6% increase in its revenues this year, to some $415m with a 10% increase in its net profit before acquisition costs, to some $20m. Its order book for this year is also expected to be up 13%, to some $490m. But Quadral’s joint bid for 40% of Groupe Bull has put Cerus off until such a time that Bull is no longer in the picture, the spokeswoman said. In the meantime, the principal managers of Bull have created Bull Executive Partners SA with the intention of buying 5% of the company’s capital. The investment firm was founded by the 12 members of the Bull Executive Board and the 23 members of the Bull Operating Council. Its aim is to enable its members to become shareholders for a minimum of between $40,000 and $200,000.
