However no new restructuring were announcedIt does not generate a structural deficitStarting for part of its lost time beig did not lose hisTurmoil is still felt throughout the worldIt was necessary to network all the skillsThe greatest collectors of the world comeIt doesn't matter if they lose most of the timeThe first based at Montdidier in the sum is already operationalSince midSeptember the stock markets mark way2 higher than the expectations of the marketThomson escaped bankruptcy. Unable to repay its debt, the group led by Frédéric Rose tore Friday, an agreement with its creditors after several months of negotiations. Under the terms of this agreement, gross debt will be reduced nearly by half, to EUR 1.55 billion. In Exchange, the 50 bankers and bondholders will enter the capital of the group, receiving shares and redeemable bonds to stocks. The current shareholders will therefore be heavily diluted. Even if they are invited to participate in the capital increase of EUR 350 million, they will hold the best 52 of the company at the end of the operation. Thomson also obtained a rescheduling of remaining debt, pushing the two-thirds of the repayment in 2016. The agreement must now be approved by the shareholders in the fall.
You have to sign an agreement for the restructuring of the debt with the majority of your creditors. Why not all
The important thing was to have this majority signature. This is done and Thomson can now move forward. The financial restructuring plan was to collect the agreement of the majority of the creditors, not necessarily 100 of them. And I am hopeful that all will eventually sign, including Deutsche Bank, which is an important creditor with a little more than 400 million euros.
The negotiation was long. Have you thought that it could fail and that Thomson would be put into bankruptcy
No, I was always confident, because I have taken a clear speech to creditors: either you agree with the strategy I've presented to you and your interest is to make an effort, even if this effort is expensive. Either you are not in agreement, and you have two choices: change management or require the sale of the group by apartments. Creditors have understood that their interest was to find an agreement and they were followed on the strategy.
Even with a gross debt reduced to 1.5 billion, can Thomson recover
Our net debt after this restructuring will be reduced to 1.1 billion and sommes convinced that Thomson can withstand this amount in debt. Rating agencies we have consulted consider also our goal to find a quality of Honourable signature ("BB") to the horizon 2012-2013 to be credible.
We must see where returning. We were facing a huge wall of debt of 1.4 billion to repay in 2012. Now, thanks to the financial restructuring, our biggest deadline is extended to 2016, date at which our net debt represent less than twice the current of our operating income level, that we hope to see even grow. It is quite bearable and this opens up a horizon of seven years which is very significant in the current situation. In addition, our creditors agreed that Thomson retains a cash flow of EUR 400 million, which is sufficient because our strategy was not based on acquisitions.
What maturity can Thomson become cost-effective
Excluding significant impairment of assets, we have already registered a positive operating result in the first half. The agreement with our creditors avoid us business deadlocked for the second part of the year. The priority is to focus on the generation of cash flow and profitability, not on the turnover. It is unnecessary to run behind new commands as long as we have not found a proper level of profitability.
Where are you from your disposals of assets
We just go in exclusive negotiations for the surrender of Grass Valley Editor's Note: for film and audiovisual equipment manufacturer and we hope to conclude to the re-entry. It is one of the largest outbreaks of losses of Thomson - several tens of millions of euros in the first half. We do not have the means to maintain this activity, which does not in any way with the group policy framework. In addition, we always sell Prime Retail Networks and our 50 in Screenvision by the end of the year. Finally, with regard to our plant in Angers decoders, which employs 330 people, we decided to keep it in the group, as there was no solutions of recovery ensuring the sustainability of the jobs. In the same concern, I have decided to close our R & D India and the repatriate in Rennes.
What is your strategy
The sine qua non of the stimulus was to address the problem of financing and to refocus the activities of the Group on its core business, services to content creators. Our strategy is simple: it is to focus on one type of client, the creators of content such as Disney, ITV, Bouygues, Vivendi, etc. We offer services of work of the image. All activities which are not in this field have vocation to be surrendered. We sommes world leader in the work of the image, our major competitor in this area being Sony. With a difference in what we are: we are indépendants.
We rely on our capacity for innovation and our patents to develop in the 3D image. As early as next year, the majors will exit 15 films in 3D. For example, we are working on solutions that would allow cinemas to project films in 3D with their current equipment instead of investing in digital projectors very expensive.
What look like the "new Thomson"
After restructuring, the group will be approximately EUR 4 billion of turnover for approximately 20,000 employees, against 23,000 when I arrived, a little less than a year ago.
Financial restructuring helped evacuate the debt of the past. This transformation will also go through a change of name that we will propose at the general meeting of shareholders this autumn. We had sousestimé the weight of the Thomson name, which has become a burden. The public closer to this brand of consumer electronics, while this has nothing to do with our new business. The new group will also very much to renew its Board of Directors, with personalities that will accompany the Group on its revival.
