Le Temps with new shareholders
A fresh injection of funds from private banking circles should secure the future of the daily newspaper
A fresh injection of funds from private banking circles is set to secure the future of the daily newspaperBy Christophe BüchiThe shareholders of the French-speaking Swiss daily newspaper Le Temps are about to undergo major changes. Two private bankers, including Bénédict Hentsch, and the Sandoz family foundation will in future have the say alongside Edipresse. The new main shareholders will take over the assets and liabilities of the deceased Journal de Genève AG.
Times are also changing at Le Temps. The French daily newspaper, which was created from the merger of the Journal de Genève with the Edipresse newspaper Le Nouveau Quotidien, was previously 47 percent controlled by Edipresse on the one hand and by the public limited company of the defunct Journal de Genève on the other (the remaining 6 percent is reserved for the Le Temps editorial team). This was intended to ensure that the two merger partners were on an equal footing.
The Swiss Federal Competition Commission (ComCo) also stipulated that the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Le Temps must not belong to either of the two shareholder groups. Until recently, this was the former economic diplomat David de Pury. The Neuchâtel native, who as the main author of the White Paper was at times portrayed as a figurehead of the hard-core Swiss neoliberals, died unexpectedly recently.
Engel Group: merger enemies with disruptive potential
The shareholder structure of Le Temps has proven itself to some extent: Edipresse and the representatives of the ex-Journal on the Board of Directors seem to get on well. Nevertheless, a problem arose: the shareholders of the late Journal de Genève are very fragmented and have been quite divided since the demise of the former Geneva newspaper. It will be remembered that the decision to merge the respected liberal paper with the cheeky pile baby Nouveau Quotidien caused a huge stir in the good Geneva society at the time. People tended to forget that the liberal Journal de Genève had swallowed up its Vaudois liberal sister paper Gazette de Lausanne a few years earlier ...
However, the chairman of the Journal de Genève AG, the former member of the Geneva Council of States Gilbert Coutau, who had pushed through the decision to merge the Journal with the Quotidien together with important shareholders such as the Sandoz family foundation and the private banker Bénédict Hentsch, was repeatedly accused by minority shareholders of having "betrayed" the Geneva newspaper and "sold" it to the monopolist Edipresse for a lentil. The spokesman of the merger opponents, Geneva law professor Pierre Engel, even tried to prevent the merger in court, but without success. However, the small Engel Group has so far had considerable disruptive potential within the Journal de Genève AG.
That is about to change. Last Friday, the "SA du Journal de Genève et Gazette de Lausanne", as the public limited company is called in full, was dissolved. The restructuring plan, which was presented to the shareholders at the same time, envisages that the 47 percent of Le Temps share capital previously held by the Journal AG will go to a group consisting of three important investors from French-speaking Switzerland: the Geneva private bankers Bénédict Hentsch and Guy Demole and the Sandoz family foundation.
Sweetened farewell for former Journal shareholders
However, the bitter pill will be sweetened for Journal shareholders with a sugar coating. After all, the investor group is prepared to provide eleven million francs and take over all the liabilities of the highly indebted AG. The liquidation of Journal AG will probably result in a small surplus, which should allow a liquidation dividend to be paid out to shareholders, presumably in the amount of the nominal value of the share (CHF 12).
And above all, it seems to have ensured that Le Temps' financial requirements, which are likely to remain considerable in the near future, are secured for some time to come. As Gilbert Coutau explains to WerbeWoche, the new major shareholders of Le Temps want to join forces in a shareholder pool. "The important thing, however, is that Claude Demole, Bénédict Hentsch and the family foundation are prepared to inject new funds to enable the future development of Le Temps."
Competition Commission has reservations about Garelli
Finally, Le Temps will also have a new Chairman of the Board of Directors. De Pury will be succeeded by Stéphane Garelli, a professor of economics from Lausanne. However, Garelli was previously a member of the Board of the Sandoz Family Foundation. Now the Competition Commission will only give its consent to Garelli's election if he cuts his ties with the Sandoz Foundation or if the family foundation withdraws from the Le Temps shareholder base, which is unlikely. Garelli will therefore have no choice but to resign from his position on the Board of Trustees.
Le Temps in the red
Times are also changing at Le Temps. The French daily newspaper, which was created from the merger of the Journal de Genève with the Edipresse newspaper Le Nouveau Quotidien, was previously 47 percent controlled by Edipresse on the one hand and by the public limited company of the defunct Journal de Genève on the other (the remaining 6 percent is reserved for the Le Temps editorial team). This was intended to ensure that the two merger partners were on an equal footing.
The Swiss Federal Competition Commission (ComCo) also stipulated that the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Le Temps must not belong to either of the two shareholder groups. Until recently, this was the former economic diplomat David de Pury. The Neuchâtel native, who as the main author of the White Paper was at times portrayed as a figurehead of the hard-core Swiss neoliberals, died unexpectedly recently.
Engel Group: merger enemies with disruptive potential
The shareholder structure of Le Temps has proven itself to some extent: Edipresse and the representatives of the ex-Journal on the Board of Directors seem to get on well. Nevertheless, a problem arose: the shareholders of the late Journal de Genève are very fragmented and have been quite divided since the demise of the former Geneva newspaper. It will be remembered that the decision to merge the respected liberal paper with the cheeky pile baby Nouveau Quotidien caused a huge stir in the good Geneva society at the time. People tended to forget that the liberal Journal de Genève had swallowed up its Vaudois liberal sister paper Gazette de Lausanne a few years earlier ...
However, the chairman of the Journal de Genève AG, the former member of the Geneva Council of States Gilbert Coutau, who had pushed through the decision to merge the Journal with the Quotidien together with important shareholders such as the Sandoz family foundation and the private banker Bénédict Hentsch, was repeatedly accused by minority shareholders of having "betrayed" the Geneva newspaper and "sold" it to the monopolist Edipresse for a lentil. The spokesman of the merger opponents, Geneva law professor Pierre Engel, even tried to prevent the merger in court, but without success. However, the small Engel Group has so far had considerable disruptive potential within the Journal de Genève AG.
That is about to change. Last Friday, the "SA du Journal de Genève et Gazette de Lausanne", as the public limited company is called in full, was dissolved. The restructuring plan, which was presented to the shareholders at the same time, envisages that the 47 percent of Le Temps share capital previously held by the Journal AG will go to a group consisting of three important investors from French-speaking Switzerland: the Geneva private bankers Bénédict Hentsch and Guy Demole and the Sandoz family foundation.
Sweetened farewell for former Journal shareholders
However, the bitter pill will be sweetened for Journal shareholders with a sugar coating. After all, the investor group is prepared to provide eleven million francs and take over all the liabilities of the highly indebted AG. The liquidation of Journal AG will probably result in a small surplus, which should allow a liquidation dividend to be paid out to shareholders, presumably in the amount of the nominal value of the share (CHF 12).
And above all, it seems to have ensured that Le Temps' financial requirements, which are likely to remain considerable in the near future, are secured for some time to come. As Gilbert Coutau explains to WerbeWoche, the new major shareholders of Le Temps want to join forces in a shareholder pool. "The important thing, however, is that Claude Demole, Bénédict Hentsch and the family foundation are prepared to inject new funds to enable the future development of Le Temps."
Competition Commission has reservations about Garelli
Finally, Le Temps will also have a new Chairman of the Board of Directors. De Pury will be succeeded by Stéphane Garelli, a professor of economics from Lausanne. However, Garelli was previously a member of the Board of the Sandoz Family Foundation. Now the Competition Commission will only give its consent to Garelli's election if he cuts his ties with the Sandoz Foundation or if the family foundation withdraws from the Le Temps shareholder base, which is unlikely. Garelli will therefore have no choice but to resign from his position on the Board of Trustees.
Le Temps in the red
Last year, Le Temps posted a loss of 1.95 million francs. Turnover rose by 12 percent to 51.2 million francs. The operating loss is mainly due to the high investments required for the launch of the TéléTemps supplement. Since the birth of Le Temps in 1998, the cumulative loss, interest and depreciation have totaled 9.6 million francs.
