Bureau Veritas, a global leader in the Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) industry, announces that it has bought back c. 3.69 million of its own shares (circa 0.8% of its share capital) for an aggregate amount of c. 100 million euros as part of the accelerated bookbuilding process completed by Wendel, by which Wendel has sold a total of 40.5 million Bureau Veritas’ shares representing approximately 9% of the share capital.
After the completion of this transaction, Wendel remains Bureau Veritas’ largest shareholder with c. 26.5% of the share capital and c. 41.2% of the voting rights.
In accordance with the purpose of the share buyback program approved by the Annual General Meeting, the shares bought back will be used for cancellation purposes and for any other purposes authorized by the Company’s shareholders at the Annual General Meeting of June 22, 2023.
Lac1, managed by Bpifrance, acquired a 4% stake in the Company’s share capital as part of the disposal transaction initiated by Wendel and, as a result, becomes a new cornerstone investor.
The Company has entered into an agreement on 4 April 2024 with Lac1, managed by Bpifrance, pursuant to which it will be agreed that following Lac1’s acquisition of a stake in the Company, the Board of Directors will propose the appointment of Bpifrance as an independent director at the Board of Directors of Bureau Veritas in compliance with the parity rules or, if such an appointment cannot be made immediately, as an observer.