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Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 13D
Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. 8)
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)
Dirk Kipp
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)
May 10, 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 5 Pages
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<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
<S> <C>
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CUSIP No.: 35177K108 13D Page 2 of 5 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 2,561,000
SHARES
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BENEFICIALLY SHARED VOTING POWER 0
OWNED
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BY EACH SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 2,561,000
REPORTING
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PERSON SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 0
WITH
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11 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 2,561,000
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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) 16.76%
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14 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON BK
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</TABLE>
Page 2 of 5 Pages
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This Amendment No. 8 amends and supplements Items 4 and 7 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").
ITEM 4. PURPOSE OF TRANSACTION
As previously disclosed, the Bank solicited proxies of the shareholders of
the Fund to vote in favor of its two nominees, Gregory L. Melville and Moritz
Sell, to the Board at the election which occurred at the Annual Meeting of
Shareholders of the Fund held on April 26, 2000 (the "Annual Meeting") and, in
connection therewith, filed preliminary proxy materials with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on March 29, 2000. The Bank filed its definitive proxy
materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 12, 2000 and
engaged in solicitation activities with respect to the election.
In a press release on May 10, 2000 the Fund announced that Messrs. Melville
and Sell had been elected to serve as directors of the Fund for a term of three
years. On May 11, 2000 Messrs. Melville and Sell sent the letter attached hereto
as Exhibit 1 to their fellow board members, calling attention to certain matters
relating to the shareholder vote at the Annual Meeting.
Except as set forth herein and in the Schedule 13D and amendments thereto
previously filed by the Bank, 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 7. MATERIAL TO BE FILED AS EXHIBITS
1. Open Letter to the Board of Directors of the France Growth Fund, Inc.,
dated May 11, 2000, from Gregory L. Melville and Moritz Sell
Page 3 of 5 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: May 12, 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 4 of 5 Pages
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Exhibit 1
May 11, 2000
Open Letter to the Board of Directors of the France Growth Fund, Inc.
Gentlemen,
Yesterday the France Growth Fund announced the official results of its Annual
Meeting of Stockholders. We would like to draw your attention to certain aspects
of the voting that were not revealed in the press release issued by the Fund.
The press released noted that the "two non-binding stockholder proposals--with
respect to expediting the process to ensure Fund shares can trade at net asset
value and with respect to conducting a tender offer for at least 5% of Fund
shares--were approved by less than a majority of the outstanding shares of the
Fund." Although these are the net results, we want to share the detailed voting
results with you.
The shareholder proposal recommending that steps be taken to ensure that the
Fund's shares can trade at net asset value (NAV) received 7,584,913 votes,
representing 49.64% of 15,280,000 shares outstanding and approximately 69% of
votes cast on this proposal. Similarly, the proposal recommending that a
tender-offer be conducted for at least 5% of the fund's shares received
7,501,170 votes, representing 49.09% of the outstanding shares and approximately
68% of the votes cast on this proposal.
The detailed results are significant and it is very important for the Board to
strongly consider this information in the future.
We look forward to discussing these matters at the next Board Meeting.
Respectfully,
Gregory L. Melville Moritz Sell
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