Former Elf Aquitaine chief Philippe Jaffré has reemerged as chairman of Ze Bank, billionaire Bernard Arnault’s Internet bank, which will open for business in January with E114 million ($95 million) in working capital supplied by the financier. In a dramatic takeover battle last year, Jaffré succumbed to a E50.1 billion offer for Elf from French oil rival TotalFina, after it became clear that his company’s efforts to remain independent would fail. Jaffré left Elf with stock options worth $35 million, outraging French unions and derailing the government’s plan to lower taxes on options from the current 40 percent rate.
A well-known technophile who bought his first Apple computer in 1983, Jaffré, 55, says he has been brought on board to provide Ze Bank with credibility in the wake of this year’s dot-com stock collapse. “Today you need to have some balance provided by older managers who are well known in the world of business,” he says.
A Finance Ministry official and chief executive of Crédit Agricole before taking over as Elf’s chairman in 1993, Jaffré will probably be negotiating with many old acquaintances as Ze Bank expands its roster of financial partners. One likely partnership is with online service Stock-Option.fr., launched by Jaffré before he joined Ze Bank last month. The site specializes in providing tax and investment advice to stock option holders. Barrels of ink are used decrying options in France, Jaffré says, but “no one tells you how to manage them.”
