Non-Core Asset Liquidation Blitz

"Now the task is to make the industrial part of the group profitable and finish "slimming down the mammoth," which is no small feat."

"The real estate service of the group scouts as much as it can to divest the very diverse assets that make up the non-operational heritage: land, workers' houses, head offices, factory buildings, warehouses... Those that cannot be sold are rented out. The Mivoisin estate, a flagship of this heritage, must be returned to profitability in order to be sold. It consists of 3,600 hectares spread across agricultural land, forests, and hunting grounds. A pleasure property must be turned into a profitable operation. The staff is reduced from 80 to 20 people. To combine utility with pleasure, under the impulse of René Mayer, the castle is also used by the group as a seminar center."

"The carving up will begin very quickly. To have current cash flow and satisfy the most privileged creditors, the judicial administrator finalizes the sale of L'Aurore and Paris-Turf, as well as the building on Rue de Richelieu, headquarters of the press group. The Fresnay-le-Buffard stud farm and the racing stable in the colors of Marcel Boussac, with his champion, Acamas, are sold to Aga Khan."

"Far from the paneling of Avenue Montaigne, in Wambrechies, the next day, a meeting of the central company committee takes place. The agenda is spicy: proposal for job cuts and divestments of activities. The meeting is particularly stormy. The unions and the staff representatives cry out against the dismantling of the group. The divestments concern the tailoring unit of Le Pigeon Voyageur in Béthune, the tarpaulin and ropemaking activities of Saint Frères in Flixecourt, the Ted Lapidus tailoring factory in Fécamp, and the Raclet tents in Mamers. These divestments were already planned in the SADEF report and in René Mayer's three-year plan."