On March 5, the regional court of appeal (First Circuit) will hear the lawyers of former workers at Samsonite’s Henin Beaumont plant (north of France) about the admissibility of their action against Bain Capital, the American investment fund and Samsonite’s largest shareholder. Indeed, they accuse the fund of being responsible for the bankruptcy of their plant, after fraudulently selling it to avoid paying layoff compensation.
The whole thing dates back to 2007, when one of Samsonite’s Hénin Beaumont went into liquidation following a buyout from the investment fund that owned more than 80 percent of the luggage company’s shares – Bain Capital. The new buyers, who got the plant for one symbolic euro, immediately encountered problems. Then followed a legal procedure that still isn’t closed. In June 2008, the Béthune regional court invalidated the sale between Bain Capital and HB because of fraud. A few months later
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