France

The European Union and the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden should suspend a trade dispute to give themselves time to find common ground, France’s foreign minister said, Reuters reported. “The issue that’s poisoning everyone is that of the price escalation and taxes on steel, digital technology, Airbus and more particularly our wine sector,” Jean-Yves Le Drian told Le Journal du Dimanche in an interview. He said he hoped the sides could find a way to settle the dispute. “It may take time, but in the meantime, we can always order a moratorium,” he added.

France on Thursday took a tough line against any takeover of retailer Carrefour by a foreign company, dealing a major blow to a near $20 billion bid approach by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, Reuters reported. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Reuters that the government wanted to preserve the country’s food security and sovereignty. “Having Carrefour being bought by a foreign company would be a major difficulty for all of us,” Le Maire said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference.

French carmaker Renault in December drew down an extra 1 billion of its 5 billion euro ($6.1 billion) government-guaranteed loan arranged due to the COVID-19 crisis, Deputy Chief Executive Clotilde Delbos told an online presentation on Thursday, Reuters reported. Renault has now tapped 4 billion euros of the loan, Delbos said, adding that the company felt it was wise to use the means at its disposal. Read more.

Bonds issued by French supermarket group Carrefour SA took a pounding on Wednesday as a takeover approach from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. sparked concerns that a deal would swell the combined company’s debt burden, Bloomberg News reported. A 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) note maturing in 2027 was indicated 1.1 cents lower at 115.4 cents, marking the biggest one-day price drop since issuance last March, based on data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s the worst-performing bond in the euro high-grade market Wednesday, followed by other bonds issued by the French grocer.

Rising corporate debt and the prospect of further Covid-19 lockdowns pose a systemic risk to France’s financial system that may rise in the coming months, according to the country’s central bank, Bloomberg News reported. Debts of non-financial companies are now the greatest vulnerability in the system, the Bank of France said in its semi-annual review of financial risks. While the second lockdown starting in November didn’t hit some companies as severely as the first, a slow economic recovery will make it tough for some to pay off debts built up since the start of the crisis.

Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and PSA said on Monday that investors had given their blessing to a $52 billion merger to create the world’s fourth largest automaker, and shares in the new company, named Stellantis, would start trading in two weeks, Reuters reported. With annual production of around 8 million vehicles worldwide and revenues of more than 165 billion euros ($203 billion), the newly-formed firm is expected to play a key role in the auto industry’s jump into the new era of electrification.

U.S. jeweler Tiffany & Co’s shareholders on Wednesday approved a $15.8 billion deal with France’s LVMH, ending an acrimonious dispute between the two luxury retailers that had stretched for more than a year, Reuters reported. At a virtual special stockholder meeting, more than 99 percent of votes cast were in favor of the deal. Billionaire Bernard Arnault-led LVMH made the first offer late last year, but as the luxury industry slipped into a turmoil due to the COVID-19 pandemic the company backed out from its promise to close the deal.

The Commercial Court of Marseilles approved the recovery plan for Bourbon Maritime after an agreement was reached with the creditors, The Maritime Executive reported. The decision completed the reorganization proceedings that began nearly 18 months ago. The company expects to complete the financial and capital restructuring of the group by the end of the year as it continues to overhaul its business. Bourbon’s recovery is based on the continuation and deployment of its strategic action plan.

France’s Credit Agricole offered to buy third-tier Italian lender Creval for 737 million euros ($875 million) on Monday, as a wave of consolidation sweeps Italy’s banking sector, Reuters reported. France’s No.2 bank had been considering expanding in Italy, its second biggest market, and both Creval and larger rival Banco BPM had been tipped as possible targets. Credit Agricole Italia will pay 10.5 euros per Creval share, a 21.4% premium on Friday’s closing price. Shares in Creval jumped 23.7% slightly surpassing the offer’s price. Credit Agricole closed up 3.9%. Banco BPM declined 3.7%.

French food company Danone will cut up 2,000 jobs, or 2 per cent of its global workforce, as part of a reorganisation aimed at giving more power to country managers and squeezing out efficiencies to cope with the pandemic, The Irish Times reported. The company employs about 350 people in the Republic. It said it does not yet know whether any Irish jobs will be affected. The maker of Evian bottled water and Activia yoghurts said the changes would save €1 billion by 2023, and promised that its recurring operating margin would return to pre-Covid levels of above 15 per cent by 2022.