The founder of Free, Xavier Niel, co-shareholder of Le Monde and owner of Nice-Matin, promises the “takeover of a significant number of employees” and the “maintenance of the paper activity”.
Twenty days after the liquidation of France-Antilles and the disappearance of the only daily newspaper in Martinique, Guadeloupe and Guyana, the commercial court of Fort-de-France (Martinique) validated a continuation of the activity until March 10 , responding to a request made urgently by the public prosecutor on Monday. The objective is to be able to allow the founder of Free, Xavier Niel, co-shareholder of Le Monde who has just bought the newspaper Nice-Matin, to make an offer.
The businessman wrote a "letter of intent" to the prosecutor of the Republic of Martinique, Renaud Gaudeul, justifying according to the prosecutor this "exceptional" procedure of a pursuit of activity several weeks after the business closure
France-Antilles had normally been liquidated without further activity on January 30. But the 235 employees have still not received their dismissal letter, which means that they are still employees of the group for now, even if they are not working. The newspaper has ceased publication since February 1.
"It is an issue of public life: the maintenance of the daily press and its many jobs (235) in the territories which justifies the reopening of this file," explained the representative of the prosecution, evoking a "credible" buyer.
The court decision provides for the suspension of the dismissal procedures, the retention of the administrator and the publication of a call for tenders in a national newspaper. This call for tenders runs until March 2 at 15 p.m. All offers, if any, will then be examined on March 10 at 14 p.m. at the Commercial Court.
No France-Antilles on newsstands on Wednesday. “There are a lot of contracts that have been suspended, orders that have been stopped, there is no more paper. So we are going to be paid with the money that remains in the treasury, ”explained the employee representative of Martinique Rodolphe Lamy. According to the administrator, there is enough to pay wages until March 10.
For Rodolphe Lamy, “it is a ray of hope especially when we know the reputation of Xavier Niel. I imagine that if it is positioned after the deadline, we hope that there is something serious ”.
There remains a problem that had already arisen during the previous call for tenders: that of the real estate assets of France-Antilles. The group's assets had all been transferred in 2017 to its then majority shareholder, AJR Participations (Aude Jacques-Ruettard company, granddaughter of press boss Robert Hersant).
For any buyer, it will necessarily move offices and printing (an operation that would cost an average of one million euros) or pay rent to AJR to occupy the old premises. This is one of the main reasons why candidates had withdrawn their offers during the first call for tenders.
Created in March 1964, France-Antilles, a former subsidiary of the Hersant group, had been in receivership since June 25, 2019. AJR Participations had in particular made a takeover offer, planning to keep only 125 positions out of the 235, but had not failed to finalize its financing plan.
6,318 total views
No comments