The financial arm of the state will take control of the group of retirement homes, whose bad practices were exposed a year ago.
Eventually, the CDC will hold 50.2% of the capital of Orpea (AFP / LOIC VENANCE)
After the shock of the revelations of the book “Les Fossoyeurs” by Victor Castanet, which plunged Orpea into turmoil, the group indicated on Wednesday February 1 that a group of investors led by the Caisse des dépôts (CDC) will take control of the retirement home giant, following a debt restructuring operation.
In the columns of
Parisian/Today in France
the deputy director of social policies of the CDC spoke regarding the situation of the group, which will now be under the control of the financial arm of the State.
“Restore the essentials of the mission” of an Ehpad
“The Orpea affair showed that certain excesses and certain financial priorities were not compatible with the world of nursing homes”,
thus estimates Laure de la Bretèche, in the columns of the daily information. “We must accept the long-term investment, that priority be given to the quality of care and the care of the elderly,” she adds.
“Today, it is not simply a question of responding to these drifts but of restoring the essentials of what must be the mission of a nursing home for the elderly”, she still hopes.
The agreement in principle, approved by Orpea, the group led by the CDC and creditors, plans to erase 3.8 billion euros of debt by converting it into capital and to inject 1.55 billion euros of additional capital. At the end of the process, the CDC will hold 50.2% of the capital of Orpea, the creditors 49.4% and the current shareholders, if they decide not to participate in the capital increases which will be open to them, 0, 4%. In detail, 1.3 billion euros will be injected by the Caisse des dépôts, the financial arm of the State, and its allies, including the mutuals Maif and Mascf.
This agreement will make it possible to “very significantly restructure the company’s balance sheet through a reduction of almost 60% of its net debt, a very significant strengthening of its equity” and thus provides “the financial means necessary to carry out our refoundation plan” presented on November 15, commented Laurent Guillot, CEO of Orpea, quoted in the press release.
