Annual report 2008 - Altarea Cogedim

– Genoa project
ALTAREA won the call for tenders to renovate and
restructure the Genoa port district and was thus awarded a
90-year operating concession (against payment of rent on
the property).
– Stezzano project
ALTAREA acquired 100% of the shares of SRE Properties, an
Italian company, on 28 February 2007 and simultaneously
took over the financing of the former partners of SRE
Properties. This company owns land in Stezzano (Lombardy)
on which a shopping centre is to be built.
• Acquisition of Cogedim
On 17 July 2007, ALTAREA acquired a controlling interest
in Cogedim for €642.6 million including transaction costs
and the present value of a deferred payment (see note 8).
Cogedim is an established developer of high-end residential
and commercial property.
• Acquisition of Semmaris
ALTAREA was chosen by the French government to be
an industrial partner of Semmaris to assist in developing
this company, which operates the Marché International de
Rungis, the largest wholesale food market in the world. By
ministerial order, on 13 November 2007 ALTAREA acquired
33.34% of Semmaris’ capital.
• Conversion of ALTAREA into an SCA
The conversion of ALTAREA into a partnership limited by
shares was approved by the Annual General Meeting of the
shareholders on 26 June 2007. ALTAREA is now a company
jointly managed by two general partners, namely Altafinance
and Alain Taravella.
This conversion was made in preparation for adapting the
Group to meet the provisions of the Amended Finance Act
of 2006, commonly known as “SIIC 4”. Under the new
law, no shareholder other than a company that is itself an
SIIC under Article 208 C of the General Tax Code may after
1 January 2009 control more than 60% of the share capital
and voting rights of the Group, either alone or in concert.
In accordance with applicable law, the change in ALTAREA’s
corporate form led to the filing of a public buy-back offer.
When the buy-back offer closed on 6 August 2007, 32,971
ALTAREA shares, or around 0.4% of the share capital, had
been tendered to ATI, a company controlled by the founding
shareholders.
In addition to the change in ALTAREA’s corporate form,
all existing shareholder pacts between the founding
shareholders (Alain Taravella and Jacques Nicolet) and
the major shareholders (Prédica, Cacif Investissements,
and the MSRESS and Foncière des Régions funds) were
terminated.
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