The memorandum of understanding between the State, Caisse des Dépôts, La Poste and La Banque Postale for the creation of a major public financial hub was signed on 31 July. The objective: to strengthen territorial cohesion and combat the territorial divide in metropolitan France and overseas France via La Poste and Caisse des Dépôts, the local operators serving citizens.
Two concomitant steps remain to be taken on the basis of La Poste's equity value of €7bn:
- the contribution by the French State and Caisse des Dépôts to La Poste, then by the latter to La Banque Postale, of their respective 1.1% and 40.9% stakes in CNP Assurances;
- the purchase by Caisse des Dépôts, from the French State, of an additional stake in La Poste for an amount of nearly €1bn.
In the long term:
- La Poste will be majority owned by Caisse des Dépôts (66%) and 34% by the French State;
- La Banque Postale will become the majority shareholder (62.1%) of CNP Assurances.
The transaction will be completed in early 2020 subject to obtaining the required regulatory approvals from the relevant authorities.
Read the press release
Caisse des Dépôts' Supervisory Board formally approved this merger between Caisse des Dépôts and La Poste on 17 July.