Fonderie de Bretagne will be taken over by the German company Callista Private Equity, which specializes in the acquisition of industrial companies. This was announced on Monday, July 5, during an extraordinary CSE. The agenda concerned the announcement of a buyer for the Caudan factory as well as the presentation of his project.
“It’s not what we expected. We will see in time but the impression is not very good. It’s an investment fund,” said Maël Le Goff, CGT secretary of the Foundry of Brittany. For the union representative, the message sent is not good. “They recently closed two factories.” Callista would pledge not to cut jobs until 2025. “If it works, they stay, otherwise they leave. It seems short to us, ”lamented Maël Le Goff.
According to the CGT, 32 M€ of investments are planned “and it is up to Renault to put money out of its pocket and surely the public authorities. The company is sold for a symbolic €1,” reports Maël Le Goff.
An officialization that was delayed
Callista Private Equity, on its website, assures: “Our investments are based on a concept with a long-term horizon. We focus on the automotive industry as well as the plastics and metals industry”.
Renault announced the search for a buyer on March 11, 2021. A decision that set the Foundry of Brittany on fire, resulting in eight weeks of strikes. It has been several weeks since the announcement of the buyer was imminent. The electoral calendar may have delayed the officialization. It is also rumored that Renault was slow to commit to the load plan.
The Breton Foundry and Mechanical Company (SBFM) was founded by Renault in 1966 and then sold to an Italian group, Teksid, in 1998, which in 2006 sold the factory to the Zen group, after a long union battle. The diamond brand took over the SBFM in 2009, which became Fonderie de Bretagne. It produces cast iron parts for the automotive industry, differential boxes, steering knuckle for Renault vehicles but also for BMW.
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