The Eurazeo surveillance council entered on Sunday night on Monday replacing the president of the director of the investment company, Virginie Morgon, à la suite de dissensions avec le principal actionnaire, la famille Decaux, qui souhaitait son exit.
It will be replaced by two presidents, Christophe Bavaria and William Kadouch-Chassaing, at the head of a renewed board of directors, “appointed unanimously by the supervisory board.”
“Take control of the group in terms of management”
This council had been convened on Sunday afternoon to make a decision on the maintenance or departure of Virginie Morgon after an extraordinary meeting between shareholders, which had been held for eight hours on Friday, at the initiative of the Decaux family.
The June 2022 death of Eurazeo founder and former Lazard manager Michel David-Weill, close to Virginie Morgon, had “disturbed the balance within the supervisory board,” according to this source.
First shareholder, “the Decaux family took the lead on the board and wanted to take control of the group in terms of management”, a desire that clashed with the “independent” personality of Virginie Morgon, he explained.
strategic differences
But despite the support of the supervisory board, it was becoming difficult to deal with the main shareholder.
In addition to the “incompatibility of people”, there were strategic differences. Virginie Morgon wanted to continue to grow Eurazeo, possibly through acquisitions, which “wasn’t necessarily Decaux’s main goal.”
Under his leadership, the group has become an international investment company with a presence in more than ten countries and whose assets under management have gone from 7,000 million euros to 32,400 million euros, particularly thanks to management on behalf of third parties. The Decaux family owns 18% of the capital and 25% of the voting rights of Eurazeo.
Source: BFM TV
