JCDecaux: €40m JCDecaux Arbitration against the Czech Republic
February 25 2020 - 11:52AM
JCDecaux: €40m JCDecaux Arbitration against the Czech Republic
€40m JCDecaux Arbitration against the
Czech Republic
Paris, February 25th, 2020 – JCDecaux
SA (Euronext Paris: DEC), the number one outdoor
advertising company worldwide invited the Czech Republic to engage
in discussions. This is the first step in arbitration proceedings
pursuant to the Bilateral Investment Treaties between France,
Austria and the Czech Republic of 1990.
The background is: JCDecaux, via its Austrian
group company Gewista, holds a 70% participation in RENCAR, a
previously 100% subsidiary of the Transport Enterprises of the City
of Prague (Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy; "DPP") which JCDecaux
acquired in 2001. DPP and RENCAR had entered into a rent agreement
in 1997. JCDecaux paid the value of this rent agreement when
acquiring the share. In addition, DPP had committed itself to
uphold the rent agreement.
After 18 years of a successful cooperation, DPP
abruptly and completely changed its mind. DPP wants to cancel the
rent agreement of 1997. The absurd reason: It was "too vague". A
Prague court of first instance shared that view, although the rent
agreement has been implemented and repeatedly affirmed since 1997,
ie for 22 years, and although DPP is obliged to uphold the rent
agreement. An appeal against this decision is pending.
Nevertheless, DPP allowed third parties to use its advertising
spaces and excluded RENCAR from its use retroactively as of 1
December 2019.
As a direct consequence, JCDecaux stands to
suffer damage of €40m to date.
Jean-François Decaux, Chairman of the
Executive Board & Co-CEO of JCDecaux SA, said:
"JCDecaux has a long-time track record as reliable, trustworthy
partner creating value for cities, public transportation companies
and landlords in more than 80 countries around the world. This also
holds true for the region where we began investing in former
Czechoslovakia in 1990 paving the way to enter into a successful
long-term cooperation with the City of Prague in 1994 following the
default of its previous franchisee on the street furniture
contract. I am therefore sincerely shocked with this situation, but
in the interest of our shareholders we have no alternative but to
protect our investment and to enforce our rights. I am, however,
still confident that the Czech Republic follows our legitimate
demand and that we will be able to find an amicable solution."
Key Figures for JCDecaux
- 2019 revenue: €3,890m
- Present in 4,030 cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants
- A daily audience of more than 800 million people in more
than 80 countries
- 13,030 employees
- Leader in self-service bike rental scheme: pioneer in
eco-friendly mobility
- 1st Out-of-Home Media company to join the RE100 (committed to
100% renewable energy)
- JCDecaux is listed on the Eurolist of Euronext Paris and is
part of the Euronext 100 and Euronext Family Business indexes
- JCDecaux is recognised for its extra-financial performance in
the FTSE4Good index and the MSCI and CDP ‘A List’ rankings
- 1,061,200 advertising panels worldwide
- N°1 worldwide in street furniture (528,660 advertising
panels)
- N°1 worldwide in transport advertising with more than 170
airports and 277 contracts in metros, buses, trains and tramways
(326,970 advertising panels)
- N°1 in Europe for billboards (137,020 advertising panels)
- N°1 in outdoor advertising in Europe (645,540 advertising
panels)
- N°1 in outdoor advertising in Asia-Pacific (239,300 advertising
panels)
- N°1 in outdoor advertising in Latin America (72,880 advertising
panels)
- N°1 in outdoor advertising in Africa (24,170 advertising
panels)
- N°1 in outdoor advertising in the Middle East (16,450
advertising panels)
For more information about JCDecaux, please
visit jcdecaux.com. Join us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook,
Instagram and YouTube.
Communications
Department: Agathe Albertini+33 (0) 1 30
79 34 99 – agathe.albertini@jcdecaux.com
Investor
Relations: Arnaud Courtial+33 (0) 1 30 79
79 93 – arnaud.courtial@jcdecaux.com
- 25-02-2020 # Procédure arbitrale Prague_UK
JCDecaux (EU:DEC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
JCDecaux (EU:DEC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024