BDGS Associés
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Partner specialising in French and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, reorganisations and joint ventures, involving both listed and unlisted companies. Recent work includes advising: Crédit Agricole Assurances (Predica) on two real estate partnerships with Clariane; TotalEnergies on the acquisition of Total Eren; CMA CGM on the acquisition of La Tribune; Peugeot Invest on its participation in the simplified tender offer on Rothschild & Co; Engie on the sale of the Equans group to Groupe Bouygues following a highly competitive bid process, on the sale of its stake in Suez to Veolia, and on the sale of its 60% stake in Engie EPS to Taiwan Cement Corporation; Groupe La Poste and La Banque Postale (LBP) on the creation of a major public financial pole via the acquisition by LBP of a 42% stake in CNP Assurances; La Banque Postale on the creation of a joint venture with Natixis IM in the asset management industry; Media-Participations on the creation of a joint venture with Group Michelin, and its acquisition of La Martinière Groupe; Bpifrance on its sale of a 10% stake in Insignis and its reinvestment alongside Cinven; Safran on its tender offer on Zodiac Aerospace and their subsequent merger; and EDF on the sale of 49.9% of the share capital of RTE to CDC and CNP Assurances.
Partner advising French and international companies on all aspects of competition law: merger control, anticompetitive agreements, abuse of dominant position, private enforcement, State aid and distribution law. His practice encompasses counselling as well as litigation before the European and French competition authorities and courts across an array of economic sectors. In his previous firms, he notably represented Sony in the « PlayStation 4 » commitments procedure before the FCA and in the related litigation cases, as well as companies involved in the alleged « Bisphénol A » cartel. He also assisted EDF in the acquisition of Areva NP (now Framatome) and in the purchase of the nuclear turbine activity of General Electric. François also acted for investment funds (such as Charterhouse, Cinven and Antin) in several of their acquisitions.
Partner specialising in French and international tax law with intensive experience in advising on the tax aspects of corporate transactions (mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions and corporate restructurings), real estate transactions (including listed real estate companies or REITs) and management packages. He also advises private clients, particularly corporate executives, on their personal tax situations. Recent work includes advising: La Poste and La Banque Postale on the acquisition by La Banque Postale of a 58% stake in CNP Assurances and its public offer for the remaining shares in CNP Assurances; Engie on the sale of Equans to Bouygues; Groupe Caisse des Dépôts on its acquisition in consortium with Meridiam, Global Infrastructure Partners and Groupe CDC of New Suez; Predica on its participation in Verkor's Series C financing round, enabling it to deploy a gigafactory in Dunkerque; Groupe ADIT on the acquisition of a majority stake in Défense Conseil International (DCI); SNCF in connection with the reorganization of Fret SNCF and Rail Logistics Europe following the opening by the European Commission in January 2023 of a formal procedure concerning French support measures to Fret SNCF; OpenGate Capital in connection with the sale of its stake in SMAC to Compagnie Financière Jousset, Ceres Industrie, and part of SMAC's management team; and Butler Industries on its acquisition of the SeaOwl group from Cathay Capital and other minority shareholders, its acquisition of a majority stake in Pierre Hermé Paris, and on its entry as a significant minority shareholder in Moma Group.
Senior associate specialising in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (listed and unlisted companies), joint ventures, capital market transactions and international arbitration. Recent work includes advising: Coty Inc. on its dual listing on Euronext Paris; Thales on the sale of its ground transportation systems business to Hitachi Rail; Diageo on its voluntary delisting from Euronext Paris; Crédit Agricole Assurances (Predica) on its acquisition in consortium with Vauban Infrastructure Partners of 45% of Bluevia Fibra from Telefónica and its acquisition in consortium with Engie of Eolia Renovables from Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCO); and Richemont on its joint venture with Alber Elbaz in AZfashion.
Partner advising distressed companies, their boards, their shareholders, their creditors and industrial or financial investors on debt restructurings, distressed M&A, out-of-court negotiations and insolvency proceedings. Recent work includes advising: Crédit Agricole Assurance on the restructuring, through a safeguard plan, of €600 million of debt held by Comexposium, a company co-controlled by Predica and the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and on the adoption by Clariane of a plan to strengthen its financial structure amounting to €1.5 billion with the support of Predica as a reference shareholder; and Groupe Canal+ on the acquisition from Orange of the OCS pay-TV package and its film and series co-production subsidiary, Orange Studio.
Partner specialising in mergers and acquisitions focusing on State investments and transactions concerning the public sector (listed or unlisted). Through this practice, he has developed an in-depth understanding of the banking and infrastructure sectors. Recent work includes advising: La Banque Postale (LBP) on the creation of a large public financial group via its acquisition of Groupe BPCE’s stake in CNP Assurances, followed by a public offer and squeeze out of the remaining shares of CNP Assurances, its sale of 40% of AEW Europe and 45% of Ostrum Asset Management to Natixis Investment Managers (Groupe BPCE) and the renegotiation and renewal of distribution and management agreements between LBP and Groupe BPCE; SNCF on its recapitalisation via a EUR 4 billion share capital increase; the French State (Agence des Participations de l’Etat and Direction Générale du Trésor) on the reorganisation of Bpifrance (the French public investment bank); Paprec on the takeover of Dalkia Wastenergy; Covéa on the sale of its 20% stake in Caser Seguros to Helvetia; Aéroports de Paris on the structuring of its share capital and regulatory consequences of its privatisation; and EDF on its partnership with Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations regarding RTE.
Partner specialising in all aspects of French and EU competition law with significant expertise in anticompetitive practices, complex merger transactions, damage claims and distribution law in a wide array of industries, before the French and European courts and authorities. Recent work includes advising: La Banque Postale on the creation of a joint-venture combining the asset management activities of Ostrum Asset Management (Group BPCE) and of La Banque Postale Asset Management; La Poste and La Banque Postale on the merger control aspects of the French government’s plan to create a major public financial centre; Carrefour on its joint purchasing alliance with Système U in the mass retail sector; Crédit Agricole Assurances (Predica) on its acquisition of joint control over several power plants alongside Engie and Mirova; and OpenGate Capital investment funds on several acquisitions.
Partner specialising in mergers and acquisitions and restructurings of both listed and unlisted companies, as well as joint ventures. Recent work includes advising: Coty Inc. on its dual listing on Euronext Paris; Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) on the creation of “New Suez” by a consortium composed of Meridiam, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Group CDC, constituted from the assets acquired from Veolia and Suez in the context of Veolia’s public offer for Suez; Bouygues Telecom on several notable joint ventures (in particular with Cellnex, Phoenix Tower International and Vauban Infrastructure Partners) in order to deploy and operate fiber optic and 5G networks in France; Sopra Steria on its acquisition of CS Group, listed on Euronext Paris; the French State on the recapitalization of Air France-KLM; Sagard on its acquisition of ADIT; Publicis on its joint venture with Carrefour in the media retail sector; French Tech Souveraineté on its acquisition of a stake in EuroAPI and Biose Industries; ADIT in the context of acquiring control of DCI from the French State and Sofema; Bpifrance in the context of its investment in Qair; GTT in the context of Engie's exit from its capital; and Safran on its public offer for Zodiac Aerospace and their subsequent merger.
Partner specialising in complex commercial, mergers and acquisitions, securities, bankruptcy and antitrust disputes. Represents clients in diverse industries, including banks and financial institutions, media companies and industrial firms, before courts and arbitral tribunals.
Senior associate advising debtors, shareholders, investors and creditors on all aspects of company restructuring both as part of out-of-court processes or more formal insolvency proceedings (financial, operational or industrial restructurings, LBO restructurings, distressed M&A transactions, asset deals in insolvency, including prepackaged sale plans, related issues and litigation). Recent work on public matters includes advising: Crédit Agricole Assurances in its capacity as shareholder of Clariane as part of the €1.5 billion plan to strengthen its financial structure; Peugeot Motocyles for the take-over of a manufacturer of electric motorbikes as part of a prepack sale plan; Canal + on the acquisition of OCS and Orange Studios; and Crédit Agricole Assurances in its capacity as shareholder of Comexposium as part of the execution of its safeguard plan having restructured its financial indebtedness amounting to €600m. Laurène has also been involved in a number of confidential strategic matters.
Partner specialising in mergers and acquisitions, in particular corporate restructurings and spin-offs of both listed and unlisted entities as well as joint ventures. She has notably undertaken restructurings of groups in the public sector and of groups with a specific legal status. She also advises founding shareholders in family-owned business groups. Recent work includes advising: La Banque Postale (LBP) on the creation of a large listed financial group via its acquisition of Groupe BPCE’s stake in CNP Assurances, followed by a public offer and squeeze out of the remaining shares of CNP Assurances and the creation of a major bancassurance group, and its sale of 40% of AEW Europe and 45% of Ostrum Asset Management to Natixis Investment Managers (Group BPCE); Financière LOV on the regulatory aspects of the combination of its subsidiary FL Entertainment with Pegasus Entrepreneurial Acquisition Company Europe B.V; SNCF on important issues linked with State Aid matters, the two latest railway reforms and its recapitalisation via a EUR 4 billion share capital increase; the French State (Agence des Participations de l’État and Direction Générale du Trésor) on the reorganisation of Bpifrance (the French public investment bank); Paprec on the takeover of Dalkia Wastenergy; and Aéroports de Paris on the structuring of its share capital and the regulatory consequences of its privatisation.
Partner specialising in public and private mergers and acquisitions focusing on transactions involving listed companies (takeovers, public offers) and cross-border transactions. He also advises on shareholder disputes and, more generally, securities law. Recent work includes advising: Engie on the sale of the Equans group to Groupe Bouygues following a highly competitive bid process, the sale of its stake in Suez to Veolia, and the sale of its subsidiary GDF International’s majority stake in Engie EPS to Taiwan Cement Corporation and the subsequent mandatory public offer; La Banque Postale (LBP) on the creation of a large listed financial group notably via its acquisition of Groupe BPCE’s stake in CNP Assurances, followed by a public offer and squeeze out of the remaining shares of CNP Assurances; Media-Participations on its acquisition of La Martinière Groupe; Total on its acquisition of a minority stake in Eren Renewable Energy; EDF on its partnership with Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations regarding RTE; and Compagnie Financière Martin Maurel on its merger with Rothschild & Co.
Partner specialising in securities law as well as public and private M&A transactions. He advises leading industrial groups and institutional investors on complex cross-border transactions, and major investment funds on a large number of transactions, including LBOs, takeover offers, and PtoPs. Recent work includes advising: Engie on the sale of the Equans group to Groupe Bouygues following a highly competitive bid process, and the sale of its stake in Suez to Veolia; Thales on the sale of its ground transportation systems business to Hitachi Rail; OpenGate Capital on the sale of Bois & Matériaux to Chausson Group, the sale of Axter to IKO Group (Canada), the sale of Skydôme to the Kingspan Group (Ireland), and the acquisition of Umicore’s zinc chemicals business; KKR & Co. Inc. on the 100 million dollar Series C funding round of Ornikar; Goldman Sachs PE on the 70 million dollar Series C funding round of LumApps; and Safran on its public offer for Zodiac Aerospace.
Partner advising investment funds, companies, private debt funds and financial institutions on complex bank or bond financing in the context of domestic and cross-border corporate transactions, LBOs and project financing. She also supports companies in difficulty and their shareholders with financial restructuring operations. She has led a number of high-profile financing transactions, including recently the sale of Icade's majority stake in Icade Santé and the asset portfolio held by Icade Healthcare Europe; the acquisition of New Suez, an asset acquired from Veolia and Suez by Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations in consortium with Meridiam, Global Infrastructure Partners and CNP Assurances; the deployment of the national fiber optic network in France by Bouygues Telecom through joint ventures with Phoenix Tower International, Cellnex and Vauban Infrastructure Partners; and a majority stake taken by Sagard in Adit (Agency for the dissemination of technological information) followed by the acquisition by the Adit group of DCI (Defense Conseil International).
