Affichage sues over expansion in Greece

The lawsuits are directed against businessman Philip Vrionis and his family and are based on "fraud and misrepresentation", as Affichage announced on Monday. Vrionis had swindled the company into paying too high a purchase price with false information, a spokesperson for the company told the SDA news agency. "In fact, Affichage paid far too much," said the spokesperson. Affichage now has sufficient means to take legal action against its former business partners: "The facts of the case now allow us to take this step," the spokesperson continued. An internal report was presented to shareholders on May 25.
A former Affichage management member is also being targeted. The Board of Directors has filed a liability claim against the manager, who no longer works at Affichage. This is in connection with the Greek business, but there are also "further investigations", it was announced.
In addition, two shareholders from Zollikon have filed a request for atonement against current and former officers of the Affichage Group, it was further announced. A request for atonement is the first step towards initiating civil proceedings.

Difficult business
The Greek business has proved disastrous for Affichage. Over the last few years, it has cost the company 100 million francs in write-offs. Not only the opaque business practices of its Greek partners, but also political unrest and a controversial ban on tobacco advertising have hit the company hard. In 2009, the loss in Greece swelled from CHF 11.4 million to CHF 86.3 million. The company as a whole suffered a net loss of 59.1 million francs in 2009.
A new management team is working on shrinking the Greek business back to health. The company is also examining a sale to a local investor as a possible option, said the spokesperson. Liquidation of the commitment in the south-eastern European country is conceivable, but would only be carried out in extreme cases.