Laxey and Implenia fight out battle of words
The British hedge fund Laxey Partners has rejected allegations of wrongdoing in building up its stake in Switzerland's largest construction firm, Implenia.
Laxey said it would appeal against a ruling by the Swiss banking regulator that the company had broken disclosure rules in violation of Swiss law.
It branded the allegations “a politically motivated act against a foreign investor trying to exert influence on a Swiss company”.
“Such legally unfounded protectionism is damaging the image abroad of Switzerland as a financial centre,” Laxey’s investment director Roger Bühler said on Tuesday.
The company said it had dissolved a number of contracts with intermediaries in April 2007, before a Swiss law requiring disclosure of such positions came into force last December.
The Federal Banking Commission said on Monday it would file a criminal complaint against Laxey with the Swiss finance ministry.
The commission said that Laxey had placed Implenia shares with other parties, allowing it to retain voting control over the shares for several years.
It added it considered this an “indirect share acquisition” subject to disclosure obligations under Swiss law.
Shareholder list
Implenia, which last year rejected a hostile bid from Laxey, said it would start legal proceedings and try to eliminate the British firm from its list of shareholders.
It claimed the British firm had deliberately violated Swiss rules through its “indirect and clandestine stake-building” using a network of five unnamed Swiss and European banks.
Implenia chairman Anton Affentranger said the results of the investigation by the Swiss banking watchdog had “significant implications” on the dispute between the two companies.
The statement added that in parallel to the measures taken by the banking commission, Implenia was now considering making various filings with the federal and cantonal authorities to ensure that those responsible were convicted and fined.
More specifically, it seeks to suspend Laxey’s voting rights on its Implenia shares and to seize the Implenia shares held by Laxey in order to recover the illegal profits that were made while building up its stake.
It is also considering contacting the British financial regulator – the Financial Services Authority – demanding sanctions against Laxey.
Auditors’ confirmation
In a related development, Implenia on Tuesday reported that its auditors had confirmed preliminary financial results announced last month.
Sales decreased slightly by 1.5 per cent to SFr2.77 billion ($2.68 billion), while operating profit increased by 38.4 per cent to SFr65.75m. Net profit quadrupled to SFr25.53 million.
Commenting on the banking commission’s ruling, Helvea analyst Patrick Appenzeller said it was “good news” for Implenia.
“It’s clear that the legal dispute will continue and that there will be several objections. However, we assume a successful takeover of Implenia by Laxey becomes less likely, even if Laxey would get or already hold more than 50 per cent of Implenia’s shares,” he said.
swissinfo with agencies
Implenia was formed from the merger of Geneva-based Zschokke and the Batigroup of Basel in 2006.
When Implenia was founded, the Batigroup had a turnover of SFr1.14 billion, with a workforce of 3,500.
Zschokke Group and its 3,000 employees generated a 2005 turnover of SFr1.64 billion.
Laxey made a hostile bid for Implenia in November, 2007.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.