Goldman in Eurotunnel stake
CHANNEL Tunnel rail operator Eurotunnel said yesterday that US banking giant Goldman Sachs is to become its biggest shareholder, sending its shares surging by 7.8 per cent.
The group said Goldman has decided to convert all of its convertible bonds, taken on when it acted as underwriter to a capital raising last year, into equities.
This will leave it in control of a 21.2 per cent stake in the Paris-based firm, giving Eurotunnel a giant institutional shareholder for the first time in its two-decade history. The shares will be owned by Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners, made up of two giant funds run by the bank.
Jacques Gounon, chief executive officer of Eurotunnel, described the move as a “powerful sign of renewed confidence in the group”.
“It will be a real asset in the pursuit of our upcoming strategic developments,” he said.