French July jobless claims hit new high of 3.29 million

Job seekers wait inside a National Agency for Employment (Pole Emploi) in Marseille March 26, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Jean-Paul Pelissier

PARIS | Tue Aug 27, 2013 6:37pm BST

PARIS (Reuters) - The number of jobless people in mainland France hit a new all-time high in July, squeezing the time left for President Francois Hollande to fulfil a pledge to reverse the trend by the end of the year.

The total number of people registered as out of work rose by 6,300 to 3,285,700 according to data from the labour ministry on Tuesday.

The increase was 0.2 percent over one month and 10.0 percent over one year.

French jobless claims have risen steadily every month over the last 27 months as the euro zone's second-biggest economy has struggled to eke out growth.

Hollande has promised to get unemployment falling by the end of the year, although most economists doubt that the economy will prove strong enough to allow that.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

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French court delays Daimler sales ban decision to Tuesday

A emergency exit sign is pictured above a logo of German car manufacturer Daimler AG, before the annual news conference in Stuttgart in this February 18, 2010 file photo.

Credit: Reuters/Johannes Eisele

PARIS | Fri Aug 23, 2013 6:31am EDT

PARIS (Reuters) - France's top administrative court said it would delay until Tuesday a decision on Daimler's (DAIGn.DE) request for an injunction lifting a ban on the sale of certain Mercedes Benz cars in France.

France has held up the sale of thousands of new Mercedes Benz cars because of a spat over Daimler's failure to switch to a new, more environmentally friendly coolant fluid. Daimler has argued that the new refrigerant, known as R1234yf, poses a potential fire hazard.

"The stakes are big," Jacques-Henri Stahl, president of the tribunal judging the case at the Council of State, told lawyers for France and the German company during a two hour hearing on Friday. "We're at the heart of overlapping national and European issues."

A lawyer for Daimler, Denis Garreau, said the ban affected 60 percent of the company's sales in France.

"No other (EU) member state has taken the measures that France has taken," he said, calling it a "brutal decision" to suspend sales. "Daimler's position has been jeopardized in France."

France has argued that the ban is legally permissible under an EU law that protects the environment and public health.

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Writing by Christian Plumb; Editing by Catherine Bremer)

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French business slump deepens in August, points to contraction: PMI

The logo of French group GDF Suez is seen on a building in the financial district of La Defense, near Paris August 1, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Benoit Tessier

PARIS | Thu Aug 22, 2013 4:15am EDT

PARIS (Reuters) - France's business slump deepened in August for the first time in five months, a business survey showed on Thursday, suggesting the economy may be shrinking after a bigger-than-expected rebound in the second quarter.

Data compiler Markit said its flash composite purchasing managers index, which covers both the manufacturing and services sectors, fell to 47.9 from 49.1 in July, after improving every month since April.

While the manufacturing sector's index held steady at 49.7, it missed analysts' expectations that it would rise above the 50 point line dividing expansions from contractions.

Markit said the data suggested the euro zone's second-largest economy would contract by 0.3 percent in the third quarter, after official French data showed an unexpected 0.5 percent rebound in the second quarter.

"From the PMIs we've got no idea where that (second-quarter GDP) growth is coming from. We can't see that in the surveys at all and we're very much scratching our heads," Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said.

"If there was a rise, we think it's looking temporary and could fade in the third quarter."

However, forward-looking indicators in the survey looked more positive. Williamson said that despite the August data, where part of the slump could be due to many businesses shutting down that month, Markit expects the overall 2013 trend of an improvement in its PMI readings to continue.

"There is an easing trend in the PMIs, and given what we've seen in the rest of the region, we expect French businesses to get a little bit more confident as the year goes on and hopefully get those readings above 50, in the service sector most importantly," he said.

While the services sector index was down to 47.7 in August from 48.6 in July, widely missing analysts' expectations of a 49.2 reading, expectations that activity in the sector would improve over the next year stayed at an 11-month high.

New orders in the manufacturing sector rose slightly for the first time in over two years.

The second-quarter growth spurt pulled France out of a shallow recession, easing President Francois Hollande's government's return from a summer break. But tax hikes, rampant unemployment and the outlook for the euro zone as a whole will determine whether the rebound can last.

The quarterly rebound was stronger than most economists expected. When it published its flash PMI for May, Markit had said it expected the French economy to contract by 0.5 percent in the second quarter.

- Detailed PMI data are only available under license from Markit and customers need to apply to Markit for a license.

To subscribe to the full data, click on the link below: here

For further information, please phone Markit on +44 20 7260 2454 or email economics@markit.com

(Reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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TDF disappointed by bids for its French unit: sources

By Sophie Sassard

Fri Aug 16, 2013 8:14am EDT

n">(Reuters) - Broadcast tower operator Telediffusion de France (TDF) received bids below the 4 billion-euro ($5.32 billion) asking price for its domestic unit, raising concern about its ability to seal a deal and repay debt, said three sources with knowledge of the process.

TDF, which provides services for broadcasting and telecoms companies, is owned by TPG, AXA Private Equity, Charterhouse and French sovereign wealth fund FSI, which had aimed to raise at least 4 billion euros to help repay debts of 3.8 billion euros ($5.04 billion) and avoid a costly restructuring, two of the sources said.

They hoped that a successful disposal of the French unit, which accounts for more than half of TDF's revenues, would pave the way for a sale of TDF's second-largest unit, its German business, according to the sources, who asked not to be named because the talks are private.

TDF owns television and radio masts, as well as satellite and internet operations. Prospective bidders could be hesitating because a recent network sharing deal between two of its clients, Bouygues Telecom and domestic rival SFR, could mean a fall in business, one of the sources said.

A combination of the financial crisis and setbacks in technological advances has hurt TDF's prospects since it was bought in 2006. Commenting this year in its annual report on its debt levels, TDF said: "Our initial business plan from 2006 was based on a number of assumptions that did not all materialize - for example mobile handheld TV, which has still not seen the light of day."

People close to the company have previously said that its owners would not sell the French business for less than 4 billion euros, which they see as the low-end value assuming earning before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved to about 380 million euros in 2014 and applying sector multiples of 10.5-11.5 times EBITDA.

However people on the other side of the negotiation table are less bullish on forecast EBITDA and tend to apply 8-10 sector multiples, they said.

Investment Board (PSP Investments) PSPENP.UL in a consortium with infrastructure fund Arcus ARCP.WA emerged as the most motivated bidders in the first round of the auction that closed last week, the sources said.

They added that others invited to the auction included Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), U.S. mobile tower operators Crown Castle (CCI.N) and American Tower (AMT.N) as well as infrastructure funds Borealis BINTR.UL, Macquarie (MIIF.SI), AMP Capital and BNP Paribas-backed Antin.

But most did not submit bids last week, and the highest offer was in the area of 3.7 billion euros ($4.90 billion), the sources said.

Private equity fund TPG is TDF's largest shareholder with 42 percent of the equity, followed by France's national investment fund FSI and fellow private equity funds AXA and Charterhouse.

TPG, TDF, FSI and AMP Capital declined to comment. The other parties were not immediately available for comment.

(Additional reporting by Claire Ruckin in London and Matthieu Protard in Paris; Editing by Sophie Walker)

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TDF disappointed by bids for its French unit: sources

By Sophie Sassard

Fri Aug 16, 2013 8:14am EDT

n">(Reuters) - Broadcast tower operator Telediffusion de France (TDF) received bids below the 4 billion-euro ($5.32 billion) asking price for its domestic unit, raising concern about its ability to seal a deal and repay debt, said three sources with knowledge of the process.

TDF, which provides services for broadcasting and telecoms companies, is owned by TPG, AXA Private Equity, Charterhouse and French sovereign wealth fund FSI, which had aimed to raise at least 4 billion euros to help repay debts of 3.8 billion euros ($5.04 billion) and avoid a costly restructuring, two of the sources said.

They hoped that a successful disposal of the French unit, which accounts for more than half of TDF's revenues, would pave the way for a sale of TDF's second-largest unit, its German business, according to the sources, who asked not to be named because the talks are private.

TDF owns television and radio masts, as well as satellite and internet operations. Prospective bidders could be hesitating because a recent network sharing deal between two of its clients, Bouygues Telecom and domestic rival SFR, could mean a fall in business, one of the sources said.

A combination of the financial crisis and setbacks in technological advances has hurt TDF's prospects since it was bought in 2006. Commenting this year in its annual report on its debt levels, TDF said: "Our initial business plan from 2006 was based on a number of assumptions that did not all materialize - for example mobile handheld TV, which has still not seen the light of day."

People close to the company have previously said that its owners would not sell the French business for less than 4 billion euros, which they see as the low-end value assuming earning before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved to about 380 million euros in 2014 and applying sector multiples of 10.5-11.5 times EBITDA.

However people on the other side of the negotiation table are less bullish on forecast EBITDA and tend to apply 8-10 sector multiples, they said.

Investment Board (PSP Investments) PSPENP.UL in a consortium with infrastructure fund Arcus ARCP.WA emerged as the most motivated bidders in the first round of the auction that closed last week, the sources said.

They added that others invited to the auction included Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), U.S. mobile tower operators Crown Castle (CCI.N) and American Tower (AMT.N) as well as infrastructure funds Borealis BINTR.UL, Macquarie (MIIF.SI), AMP Capital and BNP Paribas-backed Antin.

But most did not submit bids last week, and the highest offer was in the area of 3.7 billion euros ($4.90 billion), the sources said.

Private equity fund TPG is TDF's largest shareholder with 42 percent of the equity, followed by France's national investment fund FSI and fellow private equity funds AXA and Charterhouse.

TPG, TDF, FSI and AMP Capital declined to comment. The other parties were not immediately available for comment.

(Additional reporting by Claire Ruckin in London and Matthieu Protard in Paris; Editing by Sophie Walker)

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