First a business plan that takes the road

Its leaders and its directors repeatedly on all tones: the strategic investment Fund (ISP) cannot do everything. "Magician or firefighter", it must act as a prudent investor in accordance with strategic guidelines and strict doctrines of investment. With the worsening of the economic crisis, the message is however not simple to get. How respond to patterns of business whose file has been removed, and which spread their bitterness in the media How do when local politicians marched with employees to call the Fund to the rescue How to resist the pressure when the Government seizes itself a sensitive file

Forget momentarily the criticism, the great speeches and suspicions. Find the acts which, alone, will give body to the "French sovereign Fund". ISP has examined to date approximately 80 files. He rejected a number and found four investments in size and various trades, businesses that summarize little or no ambitions: develop SMEs with growth (Led to Lite), accompany medium-sized companies to create value (Daher) or present areas changing (Farinia) and secure the capital of our industrial jewels (Valeo). But it is a fifth investment announced by the Government but not with curl, which will serve as test: the Heuliez.

Little reminder of the facts. The automotive OEM in Cerizay in the Deux-Sèvres, is on the decline for years. It has well diversified its activity to Aeronautics and the TGV, but a little late, so the family group is, in the beginning of 2009, on the cessation of payments. Employees and leaders are on the street. Elected officials, Ségolène Royal in mind, give the matter a political twist. End of March, the Government promises that the ISPs will engage 10 million euros to three conditions... are still far from being met. First, a "business plan" that takes the road. The electric car project may be it. In any case, it deserves to be studied by betting that these small vehicles will be interested in two or three years of the communities for urban travel. But the project mobilizes today that about 50 of the 1,000 employees of the group. The other will not participate in the Assembly of vehicles in twelve to eighteen months. Then, a new tour de table. For the moment, only the ISP and the Poitou-Charentes region have promised to the pot for, respectively, 5 and 10 million euros. The assistance of private investors and banks is not forthcoming, Heuliez in need of at least 30 million additional euro to carry out his project. Finally, a contribution of the family shareholders. Queveau family has already indicated that it did not have the means to participate in the recapitalisation.

Heuliez was placed into receivership for six months, giving it a little time to find solutions. Provided that the outcome of this folder will be exemplary. If the ISP eventually invest without that the three initial requirements are met, the case law will be disastrous. For the OEM and its first employees, since it would put under perfusion business that appears doomed by delaying the painful but necessary decisions. The Fund then that would be much difficult to justify as a prudent investor, would see its décrédibilisée governance and would be diverted from its mission.

There are indeed other tools for firms in difficulty and try to maintain jobs: the Ciri, the mediation of the credit, the fledgling social investment fund... The ISP was not created for it. It was neither the means nor the teams. However, it will be in its role if it is able to unite around him a round table to realize the project of electric car, in a venture capital approach. It will come out of this matter by the top if it demonstrated its ability to counteract the pressures of all sorts.

The issue is major because, in a few years, taxpayers will be entitled to request the Fund to account for the 20 billion euros of assets (including 6 billion "cash") entrusted to him by the State and the Caisse des Dépôts.