France Names Banks to Work on Privatisation of Francaise des Jeux

France has named a list of investment banks to work on the privatisation of Francaise des Jeux (FDJ) lottery operator, which aimed at raising fund for innovation projects and boosting the overall economy.

The French “APE” (Agence des Participations de l’Etat) body said BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, SocGen, Credit Agricole, HSBC, Natixis and CIC would work on the FDJ deal.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said FDJ would be privatised by the end of the year, market conditions permitting. Asked how much the state could hope to raise from the sale of FDJ, he had just said “a few billion euros.”

The privatisations of companies are integral to President Emmanuel Macron’s drive to curb government involvement where he believes the private sector would better deliver investment and change.