Dexia managers to appear before Paris court

PARIS, June 23 (Reuters) - Former and current managers at Dexia (DEXI.BR) are due to appear in court in Paris in October after a shareholder complained the Belgian-French financial group had misled investors, the Paris prosecutor and Dexia said.

Robert Casanovas, an economics professor from Perpignan in southern France, filed complaints with Brussels and Paris prosecutors after a slide in Dexia shares from some 15 euros in March last year to little more than a euro.

Casanovas, who said he lost 665,850 euros ($922,700) as a result, has told Reuters he and his wife had been persuaded to buy Dexia shares after comments from then chief executive Axel Miller accompanying the group's 2007 results.

The matter will be considered by a court in Paris on Oct. 29, a spokesman for the Paris prosecutor said.

Dexia defended itself on Tuesday.

"Dexia vigorously disputes having committed the offence of distributing false or misleading information attributed to it by the complainant and will provide the proof that this summons is unfounded," a Dexia spokesman said.

Dexia added that it would cooperate with an investigation associated with the matter.

Miller and former chairman Pierre Richard and their successors, Pierre Mariani and Jean-Luc Dehaene, are due to appear in court, along with current finance director Philippe Rucheton, according to a copy of a legal document seen by Reuters.

Miller was replaced by Mariani in October after the group secured a 6.4 billion euro bailout from Belgium, France, Luxembourg and key shareholders. It subsequently secured state guarantees for its borrowing and unveiled extensive restructuring. ($1=.7216 Euro) (Reporting by Julien Ponthus and Matthieu Protard; Writing by James Regan)