Latest news with #Deprez
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Drunk driver ‘detonated bomb inside family'
The daughter of a 28-year-old mother of four killed by a drunk driver cried as she told a Winnipeg court how her family was 'destroyed' by the July 2021 highway collision. 'There is a part of me that wants to scream at you, freak out, tell you how much I hate you, but even that doesn't feel strong enough,' the now 17-year-old told Chantelle Deprez. 'You didn't just steal a life — you detonated a bomb inside a family and walked away alive.' Deprez, 37, previously pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death for the crash that claimed the life of Angelina Wiens. She was sentenced Monday to three years in prison. Since Wiens' death, her four children have been separated — her young son now lives with his father, while his three sisters live with an aunt and her family. 'I love my cousins and my auntie and uncle, but it is not the same without my mom,' Wiens' youngest, now 11-year-old daughter wrote in a victim impact statement provided to court. 'It's not fair, she was very young,' the girl said. 'She could have had a great future and a longer life if you weren't drinking.' Support letters from family friends and her employer described Deprez as a good person, great mother and valued employee. Five of seven support letters, as well as a psychiatrist report, described the crash as an 'accident.' King's Bench Justice Ken Champagne said there was nothing accidental about someone getting behind the wheel after drinking. 'It is not an accident — it is a serious crime… an all-too prevalent crime that causes more deaths in Canada than any other crime,' often committed by otherwise law-abiding people with no criminal records, Champagne said. Champagne rejected a recommendation from defence lawyer Jay Prober that Deprez be sentenced to two years house arrest, ruling a 'significant' sentence was necessary to satisfy the sentencing principles of deterrence and denunciation 'and more importantly send a message to the community at large that this kind of criminal conduct is unacceptable.' Court heard Deprez was behind the wheel of a 1998 Ford Explorer, heading north on Highway 6 in the RM of St Laurent at about 11:30 p.m., when she veered into the southbound lane and into the path of Wiens' 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck. Wiens 'was able to try an evasive manoeuvre; she braked, she tried to go on to the shoulder, but it just wasn't enough, the accused was too far over,' Crown attorney Thomas Boulton told court. Deprez did not try to apply the brakes or veer out of the way and collided with the front right side of Wiens' truck, sending both vehicles spinning. Emergency responders had to extract Wiens from her vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene. She wasn't wearing a seat belt. Deprez was taken by air ambulance to Health Sciences Centre with a broken leg and hip and collapsed lung. She spent 12 days in hospital and was in a wheelchair for four months. According to a pre-sentence report, Deprez told a probation officer that prior to the collision she had been watching movies at a friend's house and had one glass of wine before leaving to drive home to Winnipeg. But according to an agreed statement of facts provided to court, Deprez told an air ambulance paramedic she had four glasses of wine prior to the collision. Medical records later obtained by police showed Deprez would have had an estimated blood-alcohol level of .246 at the time of the collision, more than triple the legal limit for driving. Deprez told a probation officer she continued to drink following her arrest, which court heard was in violation of a bail condition set by Champagne prohibiting her from consuming alcohol. Prober argued Deprez did not remember the bail condition and was not consciously flouting Champagne's order, which he accepted. Following the collision, Deprez was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. A psychiatric report described her as an 'emotional invalid.' Deprez hasn't driven since the collision 'and may never drive again,' Prober said, adding she was 'genuinely remorseful' and that she pleaded guilty in the face of a problematic Crown case. None of the paramedics who treated Deprez said they saw any signs she was impaired, he said. A crash reconstruction report, meanwhile, made reference to police finding open containers of alcohol in Wiens' truck and detecting the smell of marijuana. Wiens was a suspended driver at the time. Deprez apologized to Wiens' family, saying she was 'extremely sorry' for her decision to drink and drive. 'I am a mother as well, so I sympathize with you 100 per cent,' she said. 'I'm not taking any of this lightly. I wish none of this ever happened.' Champagne prohibited Deprez from driving for five years following the completion of her prison sentence. Dean PritchardCourts reporter Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean. Every piece of reporting Dean produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Greenyard subject of takeover offer by Deprez family founders
The Deprez family founders of Belgium fruit and vegetable group Greenyard are launching a takeover bid for the Brussels-listed business. Hein Deprez and his family currently hold 37.7% of the shares in Greenyard and are seeking to acquire an additional 57.73% from the company's shareholders at €7.40 ($8.43) each – the intended offer – through around 29.74 million shares. A new holding company has been set up for the process, Garden based in Luxembourg, and which will house the existing shares of the Deprez family and those purchased through the offer. As of Greenyard's 11 April statement of the offer, the Deprez family will be the 'sole shareholder' of Garden. They will be supported in their intent by Solum Partners, an investment manager for the food and agriculture industry headquartered in Massachusetts. Solum will provide financing for the share offer, if successful, and will become a 'co-controlling shareholder' of Garden post transaction with the Deprez family. 'The Deprez family and Solum, through the intended offer, seek to support Greenyard to achieve its strategic priorities by enhancing the stability of its capital base through private, long-term capital,' according to the statement. The share offer has been approved by Greenyard's board, which 'unanimously supports and recommends the intended offer', subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals. On the condition of an acceptance threshold of 95% of the Greenyard shares – the 57.73% bid and the Deprez family holding of 37.7% - Garden will then exercise a so-called "squeeze-out" for the rest of the business. Koen Hoffman, the chairman of Greenyard's board, said: 'Subject to our thorough evaluation of the prospectus to be filed and the report of the independent expert, the board of directors has assessed the offer and unanimously decided to support it. 'We, as the board of directors, believe that the offer is in the interest of both the company and its stakeholders.' Mr Deprez founded what was then Univeg in 1987 before the company became Greenyard. In 2015 a merger between Greenyard, Univeg and agribusiness Peatinvest emerged, with Hein Deprez owning shares in each of those businesses before the deal was completed. Under former notifications, Greenyard is seeking to reach €5.4bn in annual sales by March 2026, along with an adjusted EBITDA print of €200-210m. In the first half of the company's current financial year, sales climbed 6.1% to €2.6bn, led by pricing of 2.4%, or what Greenyard termed as 'inflation compensating measures'. Volumes rose 2.9%. Adjusted EBITDA increased 4.6% to €94.4m. Net profit was €1.2m. Sales in the company's recent full financial year (2023/24) rose 10.9% to €5.1bn. Adjusted EBITDA increased 11.5% to €186.5m and net profit was up 63% at €15.2m. That same fiscal year, Greenyard struck a couple of acquisitions. It bought Belgium's Crème de la Crème, a private-label manufacturer of frozen desserts such as ice lollies, sorbet and gelato. And it acquired dairy-free, Italian-style, ice-cream maker Gigi Gelato, headquartered in the Netherlands. That was before Francis Kint was promoted to CEO at the tail end of 2023, ending the dual leadership of Hein Deprez and Marc Zwaanveld. Greenyard said in its offer statement that the price submitted for the additional shares will be reduced depending on gross dividends paid to its shareholders. Current shareholders – equating to 30.04% or around 15.47m shares – were identified in the statement as being: Alychlo NV, Sujajo Investments SA, Agri Investment Fund BV, Mr Joris Ide and Mr Marc Ooms 'indirectly through family holding companies'. Those entities and people have 'committed to tender their shares in Greenyard' under the offer proposal, which at €7.40 a share represented a premium of 37% over the company's market price as of 1 April. "Greenyard subject of takeover offer by Deprez family founders" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
