Latest news with #AmberCapital
Bloomberg
22-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Activist Hedge Fund Turns Prey as Spanish Media Fight Flares Up
Amber Capital founder Joseph Oughourlian won control of Spain's most influential media group after a shareholder activism campaign a decade ago. Now he's the one fighting off an ouster. Oughourlian, a French hedge fund manager based in London, is clashing with pro-government Spanish businessmen that want him out of media company Promotora de Informaciones SA, owner of El Pais, the country's best-known newspaper. They're angry, in part, after his relations with the ruling Socialist party unraveled and he blocked the plan for a new pro-government TV station.
Al-Ahram Weekly
13-02-2025
- Business
- Al-Ahram Weekly
PSG president Al-Khelaifi charged in French corporate abuse of power probe: Report - World
French judicial authorities have charged the president of Paris Saint-Germain football club, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, with complicity in abuse of power concerning shareholder voting at a company, a source close to the case said Thursday. Al-Khelaifi was charged on February 5 with complicity in the alleged buying of a vote and harming of freedom to vote over a switch in the voting of a Qatari investment fund on the board of the Lagardere Group in 2018, a judicial source added, with both sources asking not to be named. The PSG chief, who has led the record 12-times French Ligue 1 champions since its 2011 takeover by Qatar Sports Investments with the dream of making the team Europe's best, has faced several legal cases in recent years but always denied any wrongdoing. "This file has absolutely and emphatically nothing to do with Nasser Al-Khelaifi, but as usual he will get dragged through a completely spurious process as a famous name, who is apparently responsible for anything and everything, until everything quietly disappears without any grounds whatsoever in a few years," said a source close to the Qatari, also asking not to be named. Lagardere Group chief Arnaud Lagardere is suspected of having fraudulently used some 125 million euros ($129 million at today's rates) of funds from the group for several years to fund his personal expenses. The case against Al-Khelaifi, who is known in France as "NAK", concerns a time in 2018 when there was a power struggle on the board between billionaire right-wing tycoon Vincent Bollore, who was allied to the Amber Capital investment fund, and France's richest man Bernard Arnault the boss of the LVMH luxury goods firm who supported Arnaud Lagardere. On April 24, 2018, Qatar Holding LLC, a subsidiary of the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and the main shareholder of Lagardere Group, had positioned itself in favour of the resolutions of Amber Capital. Arnaud Lagardere and his aides are accused of calling their contacts, including Al-Khelaifi in his capacity as a director of the QIA. Five days after the first vote, the QIA changed its position and voted in favour of the resolutions put forward by Arnaud Lagardere. The Lagardere Group was bought after a bitter battle at the end of November 2023 by media and publishing giant Vivendi, controlled by the family of Bollore. A previous indictment against Al-Khelaifi for alleged corruption over Qatar's bids for the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships was definitively annulled in mid-February 2023 by France's Court of Cassation, which ruled that the French justice system was incompetent to prosecute him. Parisian investigating magistrates are also probing Al-Khelaifi over accusations of the alleged kidnapping and sequestration in Qatar of Franco-Algerian lobbyist Tayeb Benabderrahmane. Al-Khelaifi denies the accusations and has himself filed a complaint. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.) Short link:
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
PSG president Al-Khelaifi charged in French corporate abuse of power probe: source
French judicial authorities have charged the president of Paris Saint-Germain football club, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, with complicity in abuse of power concerning shareholder voting at a company, a source close to the case said Thursday. Al-Khelaifi was charged on February 5 with complicity in the alleged buying of a vote and harming of freedom to vote over a switch in the voting of a Qatari investment fund on the board of the Lagardere Group in 2018, a judicial source added, with both sources asking not to be named. The PSG chief, who has led the record 12-times French Ligue 1 champions since its 2011 takeover by Qatar Sports Investments with the dream of making the team Europe's best, has faced several legal cases in recent years but always denied any wrongdoing. "This file has absolutely and emphatically nothing to do with Nasser Al-Khelaifi, but as usual he will get dragged through a completely spurious process as a famous name, who is apparently responsible for anything and everything, until everything quietly disappears without any grounds whatsoever in a few years," said a source close to the Qatari, also asking not to be named. Lagardere Group chief Arnaud Lagardere is suspected of having fraudulently used some 125 million euros ($129 million at today's rates) of funds from the group for several years to fund his personal expenses. The case against Al-Khelaifi, who is known in France as "NAK", concerns a time in 2018 when there was a power struggle on the board between billionaire right-wing tycoon Vincent Bollore, who was allied to the Amber Capital investment fund, and France's richest man Bernard Arnault the boss of the LVMH luxury goods firm who supported Arnaud Lagardere. On April 24, 2018, Qatar Holding LLC, a subsidiary of the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and the main shareholder of Lagardere Group, had positioned itself in favour of the resolutions of Amber Capital. Arnaud Lagardere and his aides are accused of calling their contacts, including Al-Khelaifi in his capacity as a director of the QIA. Five days after the first vote, the QIA changed its position and voted in favour of the resolutions put forward by Arnaud Lagardere. The Lagardere Group was bought after a bitter battle at the end of November 2023 by media and publishing giant Vivendi, controlled by the family of Bollore. A previous indictment against Al-Khelaifi for alleged corruption over Qatar's bids for the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships was definitively annulled in mid-February 2023 by France's Court of Cassation, which ruled that the French justice system was incompetent to prosecute him. Parisian investigating magistrates are also probing Al-Khelaifi over accusations of the alleged kidnapping and sequestration in Qatar of Franco-Algerian lobbyist Tayeb Benabderrahmane. Al-Khelaifi denies the accusations and has himself filed a complaint. gd-sjw/ah/ea
Express Tribune
13-02-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi indicted in Lagardère investigation
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi has been indicted for complicity in abuse of power in an investigation concerning a key 2018 vote within the Lagardère group. According to AFP, Al-Khelaïfi was formally charged on 5 February over allegations that he influenced Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, to shift its stance in an internal governance dispute involving Arnaud Lagardère in exchange for undisclosed benefits. Judicial sources confirmed that the PSG president is also facing charges of complicity in vote-buying and obstruction of voting rights. The investigation centres on whether Al-Khelaïfi played a role in QIA's reversal of its initial position to support Lagardère's governance resolutions, days after being contacted by the businessman and his associates. A source close to Al-Khelaïfi dismissed the allegations, stating: 'This case has nothing to do with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. His name is being used improperly, and in a few years, this case will collapse in silence.' The case is part of a broader probe into Lagardère's financial activities. Prosecutors allege that Lagardère misused €125 million from Lagardère SAS and Lagardère Capital & Management to fund personal expenses over several years. The 2018 dispute saw a struggle for control between Vincent Bolloré, aligned with Amber Capital, and Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, who backed Lagardère. Five days after QIA initially voted in favour of Amber Capital's resolutions, the fund changed its stance to support Lagardère. Magistrates are examining whether this shift was linked to the appointment of Jamal Benomar, a British-Moroccan diplomat with ties to Doha, to Lagardère's supervisory board as an 'independent member.' Al-Khelaïfi has faced multiple legal proceedings in recent years. His indictment for corruption in Qatar's bids for the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships was annulled by France's Court of Cassation in 2023, ruling French courts had no jurisdiction. Parisian investigating judges are also reviewing allegations of kidnapping and detention in Qatar made by Franco-Algerian lobbyist Tayeb Benabderrahmane. Al-Khelaïfi has denied any involvement and has filed a counterclaim.
