From Eminem to Ségolène

16 October 2014 By Pierre Briançon

Former Vivendi chief Jean-Bernard Lévy will head state-owned electricity group EDF. He must engineer a government-ordered decline of nuclear in France’s energy mix, and prepare a partial sale of the state’s stake in the near term. Outside investors can no longer be overlooked.

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The French government appointed Jean-Bernard Lévy, the current chief executive of defence group Thales, as chairman and chief executive of EDF, the state-owned electricity group. He will succeed Henri Proglio, who served a five-year term.

EDF said on Oct. 16 that a shareholder meeting on Nov. 21 would be called to approve the list of the French government’s representatives on the board.

The state owns 84.6 percent of EDF and is forbidden by law from letting its stake fall below 70 percent.

Shares of EDF fell almost 6 percent on Oct. 16 after Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said the government was planning to sell “between 5 and 10 billion euros” worth of state assets in the next 18 months, and a government insider told Le Monde that this would include shares in the electricity giant.

EDF’s market capitalisation stood at a little over 40 billion euros after the fall of its share price on Oct. 16.

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