The incredible imbroglio surrounding the governance of French luxury brand group SMCP is drawing closer to a conclusion. On Friday, the group announced in a press release “that it has been informed that the Singapore High Court has today decided to order Dynamic Treasure Group Ltd (DTG) to return to European Topsoho S.à r.l. (ETS) the 15.5% stake in SMCP that was transferred to it in 2021”. This restitution must be carried out within one week of the ruling.

The wording may seem complex. But for SMCP’s creditors, who have been united under the GLAS trustee since the beginning of this rocky affair pitting them against the family of the group’s former Chinese owners, it could mean recovering the missing share of capital that “vanished” four years ago. At the time, European Topsoho, the 53% shareholder owned by Yafu Qiu, former chairman of SMCP’s board of directors and head of the Chinese Shandong Ruyi group, had discreetly sold over 15% of the capital in the midst of a financial slump. An investigation revealed that these shares had become the property of a company called Dynamic Treasure Group, a holding company run by Chenran Qiu, daughter of Yafu Qiu.

Since then, legal proceedings have multiplied. After a British High Court ruling on the case a year ago, followed by a victory for GLAS on appeal, the proceedings were transferred to Singapore, where the shares are held. This time, the Singapore decision is once again in favor of GLAS. However, DTG still has the option of appealing and thus postponing the return of these shares.

Why are these legal issues important for a minority shareholding? Because GLAS brings together European Topsoho’s creditors, who have been saying since the beginning of this affair that they don’t want to be shareholders in a brand. They intend to sell their stake in the parent company of Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and Fursac, which generates annual sales of over €1 billion.

The return of their 15.5% stake would enable them to move forward with a project to sell their 53% stake, while the group’s market capitalization stands at 356 million euros, with a share price of 4.55 euros a few minutes before the close of trading on the Paris Bourse on July 4. While at its peak, the share price had flirted with 25 euros per share in 2019, it was recently closer to 2 euros and has rallied in recent months, up 23% since the start of the year. The end of the legal battle would therefore probably mean the start of a project to sell off the 53% stake.

Financial backers, employees and partners of the French group are therefore keeping a close eye on the wording of DTG’s potential appeal to Singapore.