NEC to Acquire Stake in Parent of Groupe Bull

Japan’s NEC Corp. will take a 4.7% stake in the parent of France’s troubled government-controlled computer maker Groupe Bull SA, which has extensive U.S. operations, Bull said Tuesday.

NEC will trade its 15% ownership of Bull’s main U.S. subsidiary, Bull HN Information Systems Inc., for the stake in Compagnie des Machines Bull, the group said.

The deal went through despite the objections last month of Prime Minister Edith Cresson, who has taken a hard line against Japanese industrial encroachment in Europe.

Cresson, who has advocated protection against Japanese expansion in France to restructure French industry, had ordered a re-examination of the agreement.

The prime minister, appointed May 15, has frequently expressed concern that Japanese inroads into Europe’s electronics and automobile industries will undermine the Continent’s companies.

Late last year, Japan’s Fujitsu Ltd. bought an 80% stake in British computer maker ICL.

The Bull-NEC deal announced Tuesday is similar to the one that Bull was negotiating earlier with NEC, although in an apparent concession to the French government a technical and marketing cooperation agreement will be linked to the ownership of the shares.