SPIE's Share Scheme Sinks - No Interest in Offer

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09 October 2014 | Updated 01 January 1970

The international engineering, FM and energy company SPIE, with its headquarters in Paris, has embarrassingly had to drop its plans to raise money via the French stock exchange, citing  'volatile market conditions' - a euphemism for a lack of interest in the shares on offer.

Employees in the UK, France, Holland, Portugal and others all received an email this morning and another this afternoon from head honcho Gauthier Louette (pictured) stating that those who thought they would be share-holders today would be refunded their subscriptions (up to €2,000 matched by the firm though there was no restriction) over the coming days.

This would have been France's biggest listing post-recession, worth about €1.2 billion. Although the slow rate of recovery in Europe and America (the UK is surging ahead) is also causing other share offers to be rejected. In France.

SPIE is owned by Canadian investment fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and the private equity firm Ardian and Clayton Dubilier & Rice. SPIE boasts clients in the UK such as JP Morgan, The Tate and Tate Modern, Imperial College and in France EDF and Airbus. The company recently moved into the security market with the purchase of Scotland' Scotshield.

Gauthier Louette was bold in his email to employees stating that the company would attempt a share issue again once the market had stabilised.

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 09 October 2014

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