French government representatives were due to meet EU officials in Brussels today to convincethem not to force any buyer of insolvent French parcel firm Sernam to repay €642 million of illegal
state aid.Today’s meeting follows the protests of around 300 Sernam employees last Thursday supportingpostal unions in an attempt to prevent hundreds of job cuts as part of the takeover bid fromGeodis. The demonstrators wanted a better offer from Geodis and written guarantees from thegovernment for the jobs of the 1,600 staff at Sernam.
The protests in front of the French transport ministry followed two linked bids for Sernam byFrench rival Geodis. As part of the possible takeover, Geodis planned to take over some 850 jobsout of the total 1,600 staff at Sernam but wanted to be sure it would not be responsible forrepaying any state aid. Geodis was the only company bidding for Sernam.
The European Commission announced on 9 March that Sernam would have to repay a total of €642million in illegal state aid dating back to 2004 – 2005.
Sernam, 80% owned by Butler Capital Partners and with revenues of €298 million in 2011, wasdeclared insolvent at the start of this year and given six months to find a buyer. It has beenloss-making for several years.
