French utility EDF delisted, with state once again its sole shareholder

Trading in shares of French utility EDF officially ended on the Paris stock exchange yesterday. The French state owns all of its shares, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said. The buyout of minority shareholders’ shares, which began last November, cost around ten billion euros (around 240 billion crowns), AFP reported.

The French ministry announced that the French state „currently holds all the capital and all the voting rights in EDF“.

When the state began buying out minority shareholders last year, it already held an 84 percent stake in the company. Many shareholders considered the price of 12 euros per share offered by the state to be too low, and therefore took the matter to court. This slowed the whole process. According to the press, the share buyout cost the French state 9.7 billion euros.

„Regaining control of all the capital of our utility was a government priority,“ Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said.