Le Coq Sportif: The bid backed by Xavier Niel and Teddy Riner 'hampered', according to their lawyers
The second offer came from a consortium comprising French billionaire Xavier Niel, judoka Teddy Riner, investment company Neopar, American group Iconix, as well as the current boss of Airesis, parent company of Le Coq Sportif, Marc-Henri Beausire, and the Camuset family, founders of the brand.
In a five-page letter dated June 26 and addressed to the president of the court and the Paris public prosecutor - which AFP has obtained - the business law firm August Debouzy "requests the reopening of the debates within the framework of the examination of the draft recovery plans, in that the process followed to date has, in many respects, been vitiated by breaches of the fundamental principles governing collective proceedings."
"It appears that the plan presented by the consortium made up of Iconix, Neopar, Airesis and their partners, despite having been duly submitted within the prescribed deadlines, has been deliberately hindered, weakened and then effectively ousted from the examination process," asserts the firm, which denounces a "methodical obstruction by the court-appointed administrators."
According to August Debouzy, "the plan presented by the consortium was not rejected because of its economic or legal characteristics, but because the court-appointed administrators decided, from the very first weeks of the procedure, to make the plan supported by Mr. Mamane their own plan."
According to the takeover plan made public in May, the consortium is 51% owned by Neopar, an investment company specializing in "company turnarounds" and owned by the Poitrinal family, 26.5% by investors, and 22.5% by the American group Iconix.
The consortium had told AFP that it planned to contribute a total of 60 million euros, which would be "injected immediately" into the company.
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