Lagardere completes sale of EADS shares and realises EUR1.8bn gain

Lagardere group announced (15-Apr-2013) it has fully completed the sale of EADS shares and received EUR2283 million from the sale. The company disposed 61.1 million EADS shares, representing its entire 7.4% stake of the company. EADS undertook a share buy-back of EUR500 million under the sale. The capital gain for Lagardere, net of taxes and transaction costs, is EUR1.8 billion. Lagardère group plans to divide the proceeds from the disposal between, firstly, a one-time premium for all group employees, a reduction of the Group's debt and a one-time exceptional dividend for shareholders. The level of the dividend will be decided in the coming weeks. [more - original PR]