Eramet’s top shareholder weighs exit as $500mn capital raise looms
Duval family hires Lazard to advise on 37% stake in troubled mining company
Eramet’s largest shareholder has hired bankers as it considers the sale of its stake in the troubled French mining group.
The Duval family has appointed Lazard to explore options for its 37 per cent holding and to advise them ahead of the company’s looming capital raising, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Eramet in February outlined plans to raise €500mn this year to stabilise a “deteriorated financial situation”. Its shares are down almost a fifth since the start of January, taking its market capitalisation to roughly €1.4bn.
With operations spanning nickel to manganese ore mining, Eramet has been hit by a series of setbacks in recent months including sliding prices and a fire at its mineral sands facility in Senegal. It swung to an almost €500mn loss in 2025 while net debt rose 50 per cent to almost €2bn.
The company has also become embroiled in a governance crisis — its board fired chief executive Paulo Castellari in February just eight months into the job, citing divergences in “operating methods”, and shortly afterwards suspended chief financial officer Abel Martins-Alexandre.
Chair and former CEO Christel Bories has been temporarily reappointed to the top job.
The industrial family has been a major shareholder in Eramet since the miner’s 1999 takeover of Aubert & Duval. Eramet in 2022 sold the maker of fighter jet and submarine parts to a consortium backed by Airbus and engine maker Safran.
The French government is Eramet’s second-largest shareholder, owning 27 per cent, and along with the Duvals has agreed in principle to the capital raising. The move, which will be put to shareholders at the end of May, will dilute the family’s ownership if they do not stump up more cash.
They may struggle to find buyers for the stake, two people familiar with the discussions said, given that any industrial rival may prefer to acquire the company in full.
As part of its turnaround plan, Eramet has said it is exploring possible asset sales.
While he was still finance chief in December, Martins-Alexandre outlined plans to sell Eramet’s stake in the world’s largest nickel mine as he warned that the company needed an “immediate equity injection”, according to an internal memo seen by the FT.
The Weda Bay mine in Indonesia “must be a clear candidate for disposal whilst we have the opportunity of engaging into a credible sales process,” he wrote. With Eramet’s balance sheet having been “left to deteriorate,” the memo said, Martins-Alexandre’s priorities for the start of 2026 included obtaining “a binding offer” for the mine.
Eramet declined to comment on any potential ownership change or details around the Weda Bay mine. The company said it was looking at a range of options for various assets as part of its review, but could not “provide details of specific ongoing discussions or potential transactions”.
The Duval family declined to comment.
The governance crisis at the miner appeared to be part of a broader culture clash, according to several people familiar with the situation.
They added that the action taken against Castellari and Martins-Alexandre by the board had been linked to their decision to draw down on a revolving credit facility without first informing board members and shareholders. That had caused tension, even though the executives had no obligation to inform them in advance, they said.
Castellari had raised concerns over governance and potential financial mismanagement when he was dismissed, the FT has reported.