For the second time in less than a year, the government’s financial arm has helped LMPG, a company whose largest shareholder is the Power Corporation and whose directors include Michel Ringuet, a former trustee of Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon.
• Also read: Quebec has secretly invested $50 million in a venture near Fitzgibbon
• Also read: Controversial investment: The PQ contacts the ethics officer
“Last September, Investissement Québec [IQ] renewed its confidence in LMPG by raising $50 million of its own funds to enable the company to continue its growth strategy through acquisitions,” Isabelle Fontaine, spokeswoman for the state-owned company, told the Journal yesterday.
As part of this transaction, Fonds de solidarité FTQ invested US$15 million in the share capital of LMPG, a lighting company formerly known as Lumenpulse.
When asked if Mr Fitzgibbon played any role in the investment, Ms Fontaine replied: “Not at all. »
In particular, the sums raised allowed LMPG to acquire the American company Architectural Lighting Works announced yesterday.
Since the company’s failed attempt to go public in 2021, $100 million in public funds have been invested in LMPG. In total, Investissement Québec has injected $76 million into LMPG and the Department of Austerity, $24 million. The FTQ fund invested a total of US$40 million in LMPG during this period.
The share of power decreases
These public investments caused Power Corporation’s ownership interest in LMPG to drop from 60.5% to 49%.
Michel Ringuet, director and close friend of Pierre Fitzgibbon
In October, an IQ employee, Patrick Kuczynski, joined the board of LMPG alongside Olivier Desmarais, Paul Desmarais’ grandson, and Mr. Ringuet. W Investments, a company co-owned by the latter, is a shareholder of LMPG.
Remember that Pierre Fitzgibbon was himself a director of the company from 2013 to 2017.
In 2017, Power paid $267 million to acquire 55.7% of Lumenpulse, which then went public.
Power wanted to sell
In 2021, as part of the company’s IPO project, which was canceled due to a lack of appetite from private investors, IQ was expected to invest $100 million in LMPG, including $90 million to buy back shares in Power Corporation.
In financial documents released at the time, we learned that LMPG had been racking up losses since at least 2018.
LMPG CEO Francois-Xavier Souvay, who founded the company in 2006, was unavailable for an interview with Le Journal yesterday.
♦ LMPG employs approximately 1,100 people worldwide, including nearly 500 in Quebec.
Power Corporation briefly explained
- Market value (as of yesterday): $22 billion
- Net profit (first nine months of 2022): $1.4 billion
Do you have any information about this story that you would like to share with us?
Do you have a scoop that might be of interest to our readers?