French partner ready to raise CMB stake: Compagnie Generale seeks deal to give voting strength without making

COMPAGNIE Generale d'Industrie et de Participations, the French investment group, said it was prepared to buy a further 7 per cent of CarnaudMetalbox (CMB) if MB Caradon decides to sell its stake in the Anglo-French packaging concern.

CGIP and MB Caradon each have 25.3 per cent of CMB, which was formed from the merger of Metal Box of the UK with Carnaud of France in 1989. The rump of the British business emerged as MB Caradon, with the stake in CMB.

Ernest Antoine Selliere, CGIP's chairman, said that he had also found a Canadian partner, Par Finance, interested in taking a further 6 per cent.

But CGIP did not want to make a bid for the entire company because 'we do not want to become a packaging group'. He added that the French Bourse authorities had indicated that the agreement with the Canadian company would not constitute a concert party.

CGIP would have 46 per cent of the votes at Carnaud if it acquired an additional 6 per cent stake, because of double voting rights, he said.

Mr Selliere made his remarks as CMB revealed its 1992 results, showing a 12 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to Fr1.7bn ( pounds 207m). The shares leapt 125p to 2,688p.

MB Caradon announced last month that it was seeking to sell its stake in CMB, worth between pounds 500m and pounds 600m, to concentrate on making acquisitions in its core building materials business.

CGIP has pre-emption rights over the shares, but could not exercise them if another buyer were to bid for the entire stake. Mr Selliere indicated that this was most unlikely given that a buyer would be paying a large amount for only 10 per cent voting rights.

Carnaud's profits rise was generated on turnover that fell 3 per cent to Fr24.8bn. But Jurgen Hintz, CMB president and chief executive, said turnover would have shown a 2 per cent rise with the impact of currency devaluations stripped out.

Two-thirds of the increased profit resulted from smaller restructuring charges last year of Fr262m (Fr389m).

Mr Hintz said the results were 'very good in the economic circumstances'. He predicted strong growth would come from Asia, Africa and America.