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By Leigh Thomas
2 Min Read
PARIS (Reuters) – The Dutch government’s decision to buy a stake in Air France-KLM to counter French influence was an “unfriendly” move akin to that of a “corporate raider” and is costing money to Dutch taxpayers, a French finance ministry source said.
Late on Tuesday, Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said the Netherlands had taken a 12.7 percent stake for 680 million euros ($774 million) and aimed to increase that to about 14 percent, but had not informed France about the move.
“The way that the stake was built up was more like that done by a corporate raider, rather than a state shareholder,” said a French finance ministry official on Wednesday.
The official also slammed the step as an “unfriendly, surprising move that is extremely detrimental to Air France-KLM financially”.
“The Dutch authorities have already lost 70 million euros on their investment. It’s their problem,” the source added. “Investors are completely confused about the move.”
Shares in Air France-KLM fell sharply on Wednesday in the wake of the announcement and were showing a loss of around 10 percent in early afternoon trading in Paris.
The source declined to say whether the French state, which is the airline’s biggest shareholder with a 14.29 percent holding and voting rights for 22 percent of its capital, would raise its stake in reaction to the Dutch move.
The French government is going to ask the French financial markets watchdog to look into heavy volumes in Air France-KLM shares ahead of the Dutch government’s announcement to make sure rules were respected, the source said.
Besides the French and Dutch governments, Delta Airlines and China Eastern Airlines also each have an 8.8 percent stake in Air France KLM, according to the Air France KLM website.
Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Writing by Michel Rose; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta
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