(News Bulletin 247) – The operator of retirement homes completed its share consolidation operation in packs of 1,000 on Thursday evening intended to exit the penny stock category. With a new name, Orpea hopes to definitively turn the page on two nightmarish years on the stock market.

Draw a line under the past. This is the challenge that Orpea is currently tackling to definitively turn the page on a stock market rout which began on January 24, 2022, with the release of the investigative book “Les Fossoyeurs” highlighting facts of mistreatment in its establishments.

At more than 80 euros before the scandal broke out in January 2022, Orpea had seen its valuation melt like snow in the sun to only quote a little more than 0.01 euro, at the close of Thursday March 22.

And since this Friday, Orpea, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, has presented a new stock market face. The company announced that it had completed its share consolidation operation on Thursday evening, which had begun on February 22.

Goodbye penny stock status

Orpea carried out a consolidation of 1,000 old shares for one new one on Thursday evening, in accordance with the parity announced on Monday February 5 as part of this operation.

This Friday, Orpea shares increased by 10% to 14,112 euros, a price level which therefore reflects this grouping of 1,000 old shares for one new one.

The Orpea stock has therefore left the unflattering category of “penny stocks”, these companies whose share price is listed below the symbolic euro. The reverse stock split is not an unusual stock market transaction. Several listed companies have already used this stock market mechanism to improve the readability of the action, when the nominal value, i.e. the displayed price of a share, becomes too small.

This grouping of shares in packages of 1,000 also considerably reduced the number of shares in circulation to 159 million compared to 159 billion (!) the day before. This impressive number of shares outstanding reflected three capital increases carried out by the company in recent months to erase its debt and regain better financial health.

A change of name

In addition to this return to a more traditional stock market status, Orpea indicated on Wednesday that it had changed its name to Emeis, which means “we” in ancient Greek. The Orpea brand was very damaged, explains the new management of the group, because it immediately referred to the scandal triggered by the book The Gravediggers.

Korian, another player in the retirement home sector which was also swept up in the Orpea scandal, also changed its name to Clariane last June.

Orpea took a little longer, being in a more complex situation. The priority for the company was to successfully carry out its heavy and painful restructuring, including three capital increases.

The second fundraising also marked the takeover of Orpea by a group of shareholders led by the Caisse des Dépôts, which holds 50.2% of the capital of the group of private accommodation establishments for the elderly. dependent.