CAP GEMINI ISSUES BID FOR DUTCH SUBSIDIARY.

• Position: Company Business and Marketing

The French computer services company Cap Gemini has issued a bid for its Dutch subsidiary Cap Gemini NV. The group currently holds a 56.4% stake in the subsidiary quoted on the Amsterdam stock exchange which, alongside the French division, is the group's most profitable unit. The offer to Dutch minority shareholders is relatively generous: the group is offering 4 Cap Gemini SA shares for 9 Cap Gemini NV shares, representing a premium of 28.1% on current prices. On the basis of prices on the close of the market on June 16, the operation would cost Euro 1.2 billion (FF7.87 billion). Group Chairman Paul Hermelin told a press conference that the deal should lead to an improvement in Cap Gemini SA profits per share from 1999. The Dutch subsidiary was, for example, responsible for managing the group's relations with the American giant Microsoft, and the proposed consolidation will substantially increase scope for utilising its capacity, notably to strengthen the group's German subsidiary or to secure a global role in electronic commerce. Mr Hermelin also indicated that the operation will increase the group's financial weight and its capacity shoulder debt. If the...