The four banks supporting technical services group Imtech’s new share issue have been forced to pick up 47% of the stake after investors shunned the company’s efforts to raise €600m, the Financieele Dagblad says on Friday.

Rabobank, ING, Commerzbank and ABN Amro supported the share issue, which is aimed at reducing the company’s mounting debt. The campaign closed on Thursday.

The banks have now become major shareholders in Imtech and will be able to raise issues at the next AGM. ‘In effect, they have control,’ one banker told the Financieele Dagblad. ‘I expect them to start out by naming someone to the supervisory board.’

Losses

The FD points out that the banks will have to act separately because if they act as a unit, they will be required by law to bring out a bid for the entire company. They can begin selling their shares in six months.

Imtech’s turnover was down €200m in Q2 at €1.1bn. The company booked a loss on the quarter of €224m.

Imtech, based in Gouda, has a European workforce of some 23,000. The company has been hit by two scandals, one in Poland and one in Germany. Both of them involved financial fraud and helped drive the company to a €700m loss over 2013 as a whole.

Imtech shares dipped to below one cent in early trading on Friday.