(News Bulletin 247) – Adamo, an association of minority shareholders, had written to Orpea asking the company to organize a general meeting so that their shareholders could vote on the restructuring plan. A request that the company rejects, not judging it in the interest of the group.

Orpea addresses a plea of ​​inadmissibility to its minority shareholders. The operator of retirement homes must put in place a heavy restructuring which will result in nearly 4 billion euros in debt relief and a dilution for its shareholders of 99.6% (in other words they lose almost everything).

An association of minority shareholders, called Adamo, for “association of minority shareholders of Orpea”, formed in February, disputes this plan. Last week, it indicated that it had brought together shareholders representing more than 5.5% of the capital, and requested in this sense that the company organize a general meeting as soon as possible so that the group’s holders can challenge the restructuring plan. .

“Whatever the restructuring, it is inconceivable that with 100 shares of Orpea today, a shareholder will ultimately end up with 1 share of the new Orpea”, affirmed this association in a press release. Adamo then called for the study of “another way” which would leave “a more important place for current shareholders”.

A debt close to 10 billion euros

The ace. Orpea rejected Adamo’s request, after review by its board of directors. The latter considered that “the holding of a general meeting is not in accordance with the social interest of the Company and its stakeholders”. “It has therefore been decided not to proceed with this request, which is not based on any legitimate basis,” the company explained in a press release.

“The board will continue to ensure that each of the next stages of the financial restructuring to take place is carried out in full compliance with the applicable legal provisions, under the control of the appointed judicial administrators and the Commercial Court of Nanterre”, further affirmed the operator of retirement homes.

This announcement results in a new drop in Orpea shares, which drop 11.2% on the Paris Stock Exchange.

The company’s refusal to hold a meeting disappoints the hopes – however meager – of developing the company’s restructuring plan. “This means that the slightest change on the recapitalization of Orpea seems very unlikely”, judge Yi Zhong, analyst at the research office AlphaValue.

Collapsed under a gross debt of more than 9.7 billion euros, Orpea must implement this restructuring to settle its liabilities.

The company remains weighed down by a fragile operational situation, due in particular to the repercussions of inflation. The rise in interest rates and the tightening of bank financing conditions, which have rolled property companies on the stock market, are not helping it.

In its strategic plan communicated in the fall, Orpea intends to reduce its holding of real estate assets, going from a holding rate of between 20% and 25% in the medium term against 47% at the end of 2021. The company had identified 1 billion euros of real estate assets ready to be sold “as soon as market conditions allow it” and intends to create in the medium term a dedicated property company in which a minority share of the capital would be open to external investors. But, precisely, the tightening of bank credit is currently complicating potential transactions for the sale of real estate assets…