Iliad chairman Maxime Lombardini was fined €600,000 (Dh2.45 million) by French regulators who accused him of insider trading shortly before the telecommunication company made a surprise 2014 takeover bid for T-Mobile US that sent his company's shares tumbling the most in almost eight years.
Mr Lombardini had an unfair advantage over other traders when he sold Iliad shares that he and his girlfriend owned only a few weeks before the $15 billion bid for a majority stake in T-Mobile US, the enforcement committee of France’s markets regulator ruled.
The contentious trades enabled Mr Lombardini to avoid a loss of €185,768 for himself and €11,425 for his partner, the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) agency said on Monday.
The Lombardini case is part of an AMF inquiry that also looked into how the bid was leaked during a Eurostar trip from London to Paris. During the journey, a UBS banker caught a few glimpses of messages that popped up on the phone of his unsuspecting neighbour, a Lazard dealmaker and close financial adviser to Iliad.
Iliad, which was founded by French billionaire Xavier Niel, was fined €100,000 by the AMF’s enforcement committee for delaying a statement to the market by a few days regarding its interest in T-Mobile US. The company previously rejected the accusations as “unfounded”.
During a March hearing, Mr Lombardini also denied any wrongdoing. The Iliad chairman said he “did of course think things over before selling the shares” but felt he could proceed given the “very slim” chances of success of a bid for T-Mobile US bid. He pointed to the lack of synergies in a cross-border acquisition and the unwillingness of the American company’s owner to sell.
“There wasn’t even a confidentiality agreement set up with Deutsche Telekom: that gives you an idea of the state of advancement of the project,” Mr Lombardini said in March.
On July 31, 2014, Iliad issued an after-market confirmation of the offer it had made about a week earlier. The following day, the French operator’s stock fell 7 per cent in Paris amid fears Iliad would be dragged into a bidding war. A few days later, the offer – and an improved bid – for a controlling stake was rejected by T-Mobile’s owner, forcing Iliad to drop its plan to enter the American market.
Mr Lombardini joined the French telecom in 2007 as chief executive, a position he held for more than a decade. He was replaced by Thomas Reynaud after Iliad announced its first loss of broadband subscribers.
UPDATE:
UBS and two bankers were cleared by French enforcers after facing accusations of inappropriately obtaining a tip about a secret $15bn Iliad takeover plan and then approaching the French carrier to offer financing.
At the heart of the case is a Eurostar trip between London and Paris five years ago where former UBS investment banker Alexandre Zaluski caught glimpses of messages that popped up on his neighbour’s mobile phones. A Lazard dealmaker on the train was working on an attempt by Iliad to take over T-Mobile US, and was unknowingly also providing Mr Zaluski a window into the deal.
It was part of Mr Zaluski’s job as an investment banker to share the tip with his UBS colleague and telecom sector specialist Christian Lesueur, the Autorite des Marches Financiers’ enforcement committee ruled. Similarly, Mr Lesueur can’t be criticised for putting together a team of a dozen UBS bankers, briefing them, and making a financing pitch with Iliad.
UBS representatives declined to comment on Monday’s ruling, as did lawyers for Mr Zaluski and Mr Lesueur. Neither of the bankers had been accused of making any illicit trades based on the non-public information.
Mr Zaluski no longer works at UBS. He has denied any wrongdoing, saying he treated the information confidentially on a need-to-know basis only and arguing that his seatmate blamed him for his own failure to guard the secrets. Mr Lesueur said he was doing what he would be expected to do: collect information in order to drum up new business.
On July 15, 2014, Lazard dealmaker Vincent Le Stradic boarded a train in London and didn’t pay attention to his neighbor during the two-and-a-half-hour trip, the AMF case heard.
Sitting alongside Mr Le Stradic, Mr Zaluski saw snippets of messages on his phones but was unable to make sense of the piecemeal information into the deal, which would be announced two weeks later. The UBS banker decided immediately to reach out to Mr Lesueur, head of telecom, media and technology for Europe, Middle East and Africa at UBS.
It didn’t take Mr Lesueur long to understand what was afoot: Iliad was planning to force its way into the US market by taking a majority stake in a wireless provider much larger than the French company.
On July 31, 2014, Iliad issued an after-market confirmation of the offer it had made about a week earlier but the bid for a controlling stake was rejected by owner Deutsche Telekom, forcing Iliad to drop its American ambitions.
In the AMF case, investigators had accused UBS of being imprudent in sharing the tip on the upcoming bid with a dozen of its bankers - paving the way for a possible leak. The allegations were dismissed by the enforcement committee as unfounded after the bank’s lawyer, Thierry Gontard, pointed to procedures in place at UBS to avoid insider information to spread.
While Mr Le Stradic wasn’t accused of any wrongdoing, AMF enforcers did note his “negligence” in Monday’s decision.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
if you go
The flights
Flydubai offers three daily direct flights to Sarajevo and, from June, a daily flight from Thessaloniki from Dubai. A return flight costs from Dhs1,905 including taxes.
The trip
The Travel Scientists are the organisers of the Balkan Ride and several other rallies around the world. The 2018 running of this particular adventure will take place from August 3-11, once again starting in Sarajevo and ending a week later in Thessaloniki. If you’re driving your own vehicle, then entry start from €880 (Dhs 3,900) per person including all accommodation along the route. Contact the Travel Scientists if you wish to hire one of their vehicles.
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
Classification from Tour de France after Stage 17
1. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 73:27:26"
2. Rigoberto Uran (Colombia / Cannondale-Drapac) 27"
3. Romain Bardet (France / AG2R La Mondiale)
4. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana Pro Team) 53"
5. Mikel Landa (Spain / Team Sky) 1:24"
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)
Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)
Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)
Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)
Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)
Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)
Eibar v Alaves (7pm)
Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
