Eurotunnel
Aux armes, actionnaires!
28 April 2007
But despite both Miguet and the British founder investors objecting to the refinancing terms, the Brits can expect little cross-Channel sympathy. Most of Eurotunnel’s private investors are French but few want to visit Britain, even on free tickets, so the perk means little to them. Nor is the board showing any sympathy: there are now no British directors and the British public limited company will be replaced by a French company under the refinancing, while the London share quote becomes a secondary listing.
The availability of empty berths on trains means that free travel for shareholders costs the company next to nothing, but even though the promise of the non-transferable perk in the 1987 prospectus has proved as false as the document’s budgets and traffic forecasts, the FSA seems unconcerned.
Investors are thus fighting their own battle. Rather than risk a rowdy general meeting to vote on the plan, shareholders have been given until 15 May to claim a small stake in the new parent. Logic says accept, but French obduracy and British outrage are inclined to call the board’s bluff and build the barricades higher. After all, what’s left to lose if this time Eurotunnel really goes bust?
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