Double offensiveBut Eric Jacquet played finely

The case is is played at a dinner at four, Monday March 1, in Grenoble. This day, this is a month that Jacquet Metals initiated a hostile offer of 400 million on its arch-rival IMS. It is time for the French enemy brothers of the trading of steel to find a way out. Jean-Marie Messier, the banker-Council of Jacquet, therefore take his holidays in Alpe - of Huez to meet his client, Eric Jacquet, Yvon Jacob, the Chairman of the Board of supervision of IMS, and the banker's, Andrea Bozzi, a good table of Calyon.

"It is at this dinner that the outline of the agreement have been arrested," says Jean-Marie Messier. The principle: for an effort on the price, IMS agrees to merge with Jacquet Metals in a set including Eric Jacquet will control with 40 of the capital and nearly 50 of the voting rights. After a week to finalize the details, the settlement was formalized yesterday.

This epilogue, Eric Jacquet has every reason for celebration. For his victory, it is that of David against Goliath. On paper, IMS was clearly in a position of strength: its turnover, the former subsidiary of Arcelor is almost 6 times larger than his attacker! On the stock market, the report is still one to two.

Double offensive

But Eric Jacquet played finely. For two years, he was first benefited from the splintering of the capital of IMS to become by far the principal shareholder, picking up little by little 33 titles. This allowed him to enter the Council and to the situation of the Interior. He then repeatedly proposed a reconciliation between the two groups. Without success. Until the day when, a month ago, he announced a hostile MEO and filed a lawsuit to prevent IMS to sell its Nugget, the German subsidiary Stappert.

A dual offensive which has placed the direction of IMS in deadlocked. For her, difficult indeed to find a White Knight: with its blocking minority, Eric Jacquet would have blocked in the General Assembly any counter-offer in titles. Over the surrender of Stappert, the fact that it is stopped by the justice also considerably complicated the deal for IMS, which was on this transaction to give oxygen, while the Group has lost EUR 87 million in 2009.

Hence this peace of the brave signed as soon as often in this kind of combat. IMS leaders have not made the weapons without consideration. They obtained an improvement of the terms of the merger: the parity will be 20 shares IMS for 7 shares Jacquet Metals, or 22 more than originally. The new mounting further provides that IMS will disappear legally, it is even this group which will absorb his rival.

Finally, Eric Jacquet agreed to resume its participation in IMS, personally to bring to the new set a désendetté Jacquet Metals. So, with the merger and the capital increase of EUR 20 million under debt of IMS will be reduced from 65 to 40.

At the end of the lightning battle, Eric Jacquet will find itself at the levers of a group 10 times more imposing that one he recently. In a still difficult market, there are transfer of assets of approximately EUR 90 million and triple the savings plan, with including the removal of approximately 250 positions. Hard starts...