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Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 13D
Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. 6)
INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN STATEMENTS FILED PURSUANT TO
RULE 13d-1(a) AND AMENDMENTS THERETO FILED PURSUANT TO RULE 13d-2(a)
The France Growth Fund, Inc.
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(Name of Issuer)
Common Stock, par value $.01 per share
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(Title of Class of Securities)
35177K108
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(CUSIP Number)
Moritz A. Sell
Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG
Alexanderplatz 2
D-10178 Berlin
Germany
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(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person
Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications)
February 8, 2000
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(Date of Event which Requires
Filing of this Statement)
If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report
the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this
schedule because of Rule 13d-1(e), 13d-1(f) or 13d-1(g), check the following
box. [ ]
Page 1 of 10 Pages
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CUSIP No.: 35177K108 13D Page 2 of 10 Pages
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1 NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
S.S. OR I.R.S. ID NO. OF ABOVE PERSON
Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG
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2 CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) [ ]
(b) [ ]
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3 SEC USE ONLY
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4 SOURCE OF FUNDS WC
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5 CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL
PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO
ITEM 2(d) OR 2(e) [ ]
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6 CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
Federal Republic of Germany
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NUMBER OF SOLE VOTING POWER 2,460,000
SHARES
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BENEFICIALLY SHARED VOTING POWER 0
OWNED
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BY EACH SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 2,460,000
REPORTING
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PERSON SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 0
WITH
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11 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED
BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 2,460,000
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12 CHECK IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW
(11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES [ ]
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13 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
16.03%
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14 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON BK
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Page 2 of 10 Pages
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This Amendment No. 6 amends and supplements Items 3, 4 and 5 of the
Schedule 13D of Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG (the "Bank") with respect to the
shares of Common Stock, par value $.01 per share (the "Common Stock"), of The
France Growth Fund, Inc. (the "Fund"). In addition, this Amendment No. 6
restates in its entirety Annex A of the Schedule 13D of the Bank. Annex A sets
forth the name, address and principal occupation of each director and executive
officer of the Bank and the name, address, jurisdiction of incorporation and
principal business of each shareholder of the Bank who may be deemed to be in
control of the Bank. All of the individuals listed on Annex A are citizens of
Germany, except for Zoe Shaw, who is a citizen of Great Britain, and Erik
Blahut, who is a citizen of Austria.
ITEM 3. SOURCE AND AMOUNT OF FUNDS OR OTHER CONSIDERATION
The source of the funds used by the Bank to purchase the 2,460,000
shares of Common Stock listed in Item 5(a) was working capital. The amount of
the funds used to purchase such shares aggregated approximately $33,097,614
(exclusive of commissions).
ITEM 4. PURPOSE OF TRANSACTION
The Bank and the Fund have held discussions, most recently on February
8, 2000, regarding the persistent discount from net asset value at which the
shares of the Fund have traded and possible methods of reducing the discount. To
the knowledge of the Bank, the Fund has not determined to pursue any of the
courses of action discussed by the Bank and the Fund. Unlike prior discussions
between the Bank and the Fund, the Bank and the Fund have not recently discussed
the possibility of nominees of the Bank being offered representation on the
Board of Directors of the Fund.
Except as set forth herein and the Bank's initial Schedule 13D and
amendments thereto, the Bank has not formulated any plans or proposals which
relate to or would result in any of the transactions described in paragraphs (a)
through (j) of Item 4 of Schedule 13D.
ITEM 5. INTEREST IN SECURITIES OF THE ISSUER
(a) The financial statements included in the Fund's semi-annual report
for the period ended June 30, 1999 indicate that, as of June 30, 1999, there
were 15,345,333 shares of Common Stock outstanding. The percentage set forth in
this Item 5(a) was derived using such number.
The Bank is the beneficial owner of 2,460,000 shares of Common Stock, which
constitute approximately 16.03% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock.
(b) The Bank has sole power to vote and to dispose of the shares of
Common Stock owned by it.
Page 3 of 10 Pages
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(c) Since the filing of Amendment No. 5 to its Schedule 13D with
respect to the shares of Common Stock of the Fund, the Bank has effected the
following purchases in the shares of Common Stock, all of which were made on the
New York Stock Exchange:
Date Number of Shares Purchased Price Per Share
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January 28, 2000 5,200 $14.7428
February 4, 2000 2,000 15.8750
February 4, 2000 5,000 15.3750
February 4, 2000 5,600 15.4732
February 7, 2000 2,000 15.8750
February 8, 2000 4,100 16.1250
February 9, 2000 12,100 16.2293
February 9, 2000 14,200 16.1250
February 11, 2000 5,800 16.2500
(d) No person other than the Bank has the right to receive or the power
to direct the receipt of dividends from, or the proceeds from the sale of, the
shares of Common Stock owned by the Bank.
(e) It is inapplicable to state the date on which the Bank ceased to be
the beneficial owner of more than five percent of the Common Stock.
Page 4 of 10 Pages
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SIGNATURE
After reasonable inquiry and to the best of our knowledge and belief,
we certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete
and correct.
Date: February 11, 2000 BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN AG
By: /s/ Gregory L. Melville
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Name: Gregory L. Melville
Title: Assistant Director
By: /s/ Moritz Sell
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Name: Moritz Sell
Title: Market Strategist
Page 5 of 10 Pages
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ANNEX A
Unless otherwise indicated, the business address for all individuals
listed in this Annex A is Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG, Alexanderplatz 2, 10178
Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany.
MEMBERS OF THE MANAGING BOARD
Name and Address Principal Occupation
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Dr. Wolfgang Rupf Speaker of the Managing Board of Bankgesellschaft
Berlin AG
Norbert Pawlowski Member of the Managing Board of Bankgesellschaft
Berlin AG
Hans Leukers Member of the Managing Board of Bankgesellschaft
Berlin AG
Dr. Thomas Kurze Member of the Managing Board of Bankgesellschaft
Berlin AG
Dr. Lothar Wackerbeck Member of the Managing Board of Bankgesellschaft
Berlin AG
Dr. Johannes Evers Member of the Managing Board of Bankgesellschaft
Berlin AG
Hubert Piel Member of the Managing Board of Bankgesellschaft
Berlin AG
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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Name and Address Principal Occupation
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Willi Boehmer Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG AG
Konzern-Finanzen und Beteiligungen
Hardenbergstrasse 32
10623 Berlin
Federal Republic of Germany
Peter Koenig Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Hans Joachim Bley Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Jochen W. Sawahn Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Dhariush Ghassemi-Moghadam Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Heinrich Honerlage Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
Konzern-Revision AG
Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG
Otto-Braun Str. 90
10249 Berlin
Federal Republic of Germany
Dr. Karl-Friedrich Hirschhaeuser Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
Risk and Performance AG
Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG
13355 Berlin
Federal Republic of Germany
Stefan Traegler Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
Konzern-Organisation AG
Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG
Brunnestrasse 111
13355 Berlin
Federal Republic of Germany
Page 7 of 10 Pages
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Name and Address Principal Occupation
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Helmut Ramthun Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
Compliance AG
Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG
Brunnestrasse 111
13355 Berlin
Federal Republic of Germany
Joachim Antczack Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Wolfgang Stoeckel Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Jochen Zimmermann Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Frank-Michael Boenke Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Georg-Heinrich Sieveking Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Hadi Saidi Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Zoe Shaw Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
Asset-Backed Transaktionen AG
Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG
London Branch
1 Crown Court
Cheapside
London EC2V 6JP
Gerhard Richter General Manager of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG AG
London Branch
1 Crown Court
Cheapside
London EC2V 6JP
Dr. Erik Blahut Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Page 8 of 10 Pages
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Name and Address Principal Occupation
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Serge Demoliere Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Hans-Werner Wilms General Manager of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
Invest GmbH
Guenter Laubner General Manager of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
Invest GmbH
Bruno Schmidt-Voss Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Cord-Friedrich Koening Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Michael Renner Managing Director of Bankgesellschaft Berlin
AG
Page 9 of 10 Pages
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SHAREHOLDERS WHO MAY BE DEEMED TO CONTROL THE BANK
The following shareholders of the Bank may be deemed to control the
Bank:
The City of Berlin
Gothaer Beteiligungsgesellschaft, an affiliate of an insurance company formed
under the laws of Germany, whose principal address is Lutzowstrasse 89, 10785
Berlin, Germany, and whose principal shareholders are Gothaer Versicherungs Bank
AG (principal office: Gothaer Allee 1, 50672, Koln, Germany), Gothaer
Lebenversicherung AG (principal office: Gothaer Platz 2-8, 37069 Gottingen,
Germany) and Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale NORD/LB (principal address is
Georgplatz 1, D-30159, Hannover, Germany).
Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale NORD/LB, a bank formed under the laws of
Germany, whose principal address is Georgplatz 1, D-30159, Hannover, Germany.
Page 10 of 10 Pages
