Ernest-Antoine Seillière moved to nip in the bud any expectation that he might follow Jean-Bernard Lafonta in resigning from Wendel Investments by saying he would stand for, and would be re-elected, chairman at the private equity group’s general meeting in June.

Mr Lafonta, the shareholder activist who on Thursday bowed to shareholder pressure himself, confirmed he would quit as chief executive once his mandate expired in May to heal family divisions over management strategy and performance. The company said he had “no golden parachute”.