Bouygues takes $1.9bn write-down on Alstom stake

French conglomerate Bouygues will write down the value of its stake in train and turbine maker Alstom by €1.4 billion to reflect its weaker cash flow forecasts and depressed market value. The move cuts the stake's value in Bouygues's balance sheet by about 31 per cent to €3.08 billion.

It will appear in fourth-quarter financial statements and will have no impact on Bouygues’s cash position or operating performance, the construction-to-telecoms conglomerate said yesterday. Alstom cut its forecasts for free cash flow and operating profitability last month because of weak orders for power equipment, raising the spectre of a dividend cut and sending its shares tumbling. Bouygues is Alstom’s largest shareholder with a 29.4 per cent stake. It will release its annual results on February 26th. – ( Reuters )