CMT: The Countdown Begins for Luc Gérard

Lion Capital Advisors LLC, an asset management firm based in Miami acting on behalf of the Strategos Ventures Ltd. (SVL) fund, has exercised an option to redeem its investment in CMT, held through the OSEAD fund. This transaction involves 5,100 shares of the fund, corresponding to a debt of 24 million euros. As a result, AMG, the company led by Luc Gérard and previously the main shareholder of CMT, no longer holds any shares in the mining company listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange and has no financial obligations towards SVL. In July 2022, San Antonio Securities, then a shareholder of OSEAD, requested a cash repayment of the advance that allowed AMG to finance its indirect 37.04% stake in CMT. To meet this request, Luc Gérard brought SVL into the capital of OSEAD by having it purchase the shares from San Antonio Securities. SVL subsequently secured its investment by negotiating an option that allowed it to be paid in CMT shares in the summer of 2025 if cash repayment was not made. This is the option that SVL has just exercised. A new negotiation, not included in the initial agreement, now allows AMG to repurchase 50% of the shares of OSEAD (CMT) held by SVL. This option is valid for six months starting from August 4, 2025, and requires a cash payment of 24 million euros, plus annual interest of 14.85%, calculated pro rata temporis. Luc Gérard thus has six months to find a new investor willing to finance this operation. After this period, he will permanently exit the CMT shareholder structure. In terms of governance, these changes do not result in any alterations: SVL has already been a shareholder for three years. It is represented on the Board of Directors by German Chapparo, and the presidency of CMT remains held by CIMR. Luc Gérard has left the Board of Directors during the last General Assembly.