Paris, Sept 21: The French state, creditor banks and the European Commission have mobilised in a last-ditch effort to save Alstom, the heavily indebted French maker of high-speed trains and ocean liners. Thirty-two French and foreign creditor banks met in Paris yesterday to hear details of a bail out package under which the French government would pump 800 million Euros (910 million dollars) into Alstom and ask for another one billion Euros from the banks, according to a Banca di Roma official at the meeting.
The banks will announce their decision tomorrow, according to another bank official who asked not to be named.
"I don't think that there was much reticence (about the plan), nor much choice either," said the official from one of the 25 foreign creditor banks.
Giving details of the rescue plan, Marco Bonifazi of Italy's Banca di Roma said the French state would inject 800 million Euros into Alstom, 300 million Euros of which would be long-term loans reimbursable in shares.
The government would not take a stake in the company immediately but would do so "over a period of 15 to 20 years, in the form of convertible bonds," Bonifazi added.
The banks would come into play "with one billion Euros of redeemable bond stock and subordinated loans," he said after the two-hour presentation. Bureau Report