Investissement Québec (IQ) granted a $10 million loan to Lumenpulse, a lighting company controlled by Power Corporation which had already received $100 million in public funds since 2021.
• Also read: $150 million in public funds in Fitzgibbon’s proxy firms
• Also read: $100M of public funds invested in a subsidiary of Power Corp.
• Also read: Power Corporation is in no hurry to sell Lion and LMPG
“In June 2023, Investissement Québec authorized a new financial intervention in the form of debt of up to $10 million via its own funds to enable LMPG [la société mère de Lumenpulse] to pursue its strategy of growth through acquisitions,” recently declared to Journal a spokesperson for the state-owned company, Isabelle Fontaine.
Photo PIERRE-PAUL POULIN
At the same time, the company also received another loan of $10 million from the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, which benefits from generous tax credits.
Since 2021, Lumenpulse has obtained total investments of $160 million in share capital and loans from Investissement Québec ($86 million), the Ministry of the Economy ($24 million) and the Fonds FTQ ( $50 million).
Power’s stake declines
In the same period, Power Corporation’s stake in Lumenpulse decreased from 60.5 to 49.6%.
Michel Ringuet, the former agent of the personal trust of the former Minister of the Economy Pierre Fitzgibbon, has sat on the board of directors since 2017. His firm, W Investments, is a shareholder in Lumenpulse.
Michael Ringuet
Photo provided by LION ELECTRIQUE
As for Mr. Fitzgibbon, he himself served on the board of Lumenpulse from 2013 to 2017.
Failed return to the stock market
In 2021, as part of Lumenpulse’s plan to return to the stock market, which aborted due to a lack of appetite from private investors, IQ was to invest $100 million in the company, including $90 million to buy back shares owned by Power.
In financial documents made public at the time, we learned that Lumenpulse had been accumulating losses since at least 2018.
Note that François-Xavier Souvay, who founded Lumenpulse in 2006, left his role as CEO of the company last month. He handed over his position to his right-hand man, Peter Timotheatos, and became executive chairman of the board.
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