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This
note considers French entrepreneur Vincent Bolloré
and his media interests.
It covers -
 introduction
Vincent Bolloré (1952- ) currently has major stakes
in Havas, Aegis
and Gaumont. In the past he has
bought and sold stakes in other media groups, including
Pathé.
As of late 2004 he controlled a conglomerate with an annual
turnover of €5.7 billion, a stock market valuation
of €2 bilion and an aggregate workforce of some 30,000.
Operations included 55 ships (the 23rd largest global
shipping operation), plantations in Malaysia, management
of the port of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, management
of the Cameroonian railways.
In 2006 Bolloré Group announced that it had taken
a 6% stake in Aegis, UK owner of Europe's largest media-buying
network. In the preceding year Bolloré built up
a 22% stake in Havas, removed the chief executive and
became non-executive chairman.
The
Bolloré Group site is here.
development
The move on Aegis followed raids, in the style of Robert
Holmes a Court, on companies such
as -
- French
construction, media and telecommunications conglomerate
Bouygues
- cinema
and television group Pathé
- Italian
bank Mediobanco
-
Rue Impériale
-
leading steel pipe maker Vallourec
- EFTPOS
manufacturer Ingenico
Typically Bolloré has quietly accumulated a stake
in his targets, acquired a larger holding amid publicity
and meeting statutory disclosure limits, demanded seats
on the board and pushed for improved performance before
exiting profitably when the share price climbs.
One commentator sniffed that whereas rival François
Pinault is a major buyer of contemporary art, Bolloré
collects and frames mineral water bottle labels when not
adding to a major comic book collection.
The Bolloré family traces its wealth to establishment
of a paper mill in 1822. By the early 1930s it controlled
the world's largest exporter of cigarette papers but loss
of entrepreneurial drive was reflected in reduced circumstances,
with the paper operations being acquired by Edmond de
Rothschild's Compagnie Financière in the 1970s.
Bolloré regained control of the ailing paper company
for a symbolic one franc in 1981, having completed his
law degree at night school while working for Compagnie
Financière during the day.
He diversified into manufacture of thin plastic film for
capacitors, expanded into shipping through takeover of
Delmas-Vieljeux and then into warehousing, cocoa plantations
and cotton. Between 1998 and 2002 he is estimated to have
made €800 million through acquisition and sale of
stakes in the Rivaud bank, Bouygues, Lazard-controlled
Rue Impériale and Pathé (sold to Canal Plus
and Vivendi).
media
holdings
Media interests include -
- a
stake in French digital TV channel Direct 8
- 10%
of Gaumont
- 30%
of Société Française de Production
(SFP) - film production
- 23.6%
of Euro Media
-
75% of Streampower - leading French company for video
streaming
- Paris's
Mac-Mahon arthouse cinema
-
radio station Radio Nouveaux Talents
- 20%
of Havas
- 26%
of Aegis
-
free daily newspapers Direct Soir (Paris) and
BretagnePlus
- 30%
of free daily newspaper MatinPlus (70% by
Le Monde)
Other
areas of activity, as of early 2006, included -
- international
logistics (via SDV Logistique Internationale and SAGA)
with a workforce of 8,200 people and a network of 540
agencies in 85 countries - number 1 in France, among
the six leading European logistics groups.
- surface
transport, stevedoring, freight forwarding and logistics
in Africa (SDV, SAGA and Transami) with a workforce
of 18,000 people and a network of 115 agencies located
in 43 countries
- 25.6%
of steel pipe maker Vallourec
- plantation
operator Socfinal Group (140,000 hectares of plantations
in Asia and Africa - 90% of Socfindo (48,000 hectares
of oil palms and rubber trees in Indonesia), Socalpam
and Ferme Suisse and (39,000 hectares of oil palms and
rubber trees in Cameroon), SOGB (16,000 hectares of
rubber trees in the Ivory Coast), Socfinaf (3,000 hectares
of coffee trees and roses in Kenya), along with operations
in Nigeria and Liberia.
- IER
- electronic ticketing, access control and RFID systems
-
90% interest in SFDM - operates the Donges-Melun-Metz
oil pipeline and fuel depots at Donges, La Ferté,
Vatry and Saint- Baussant
- Bolloré
Energie - oil product distributor and importer active
in France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland
-
SDV Logistique Internationale and Saga - surface, sea
and air freight forwarding operations in 85 countries
through 540 agencies
- 50%
of Carena shipyard in Abidjan
- operation
of Cameroon Camrail network and Sitarail railway linking
Ivory Coast with Burkina Faso
- thin
paper production (est 20% of global capacity for sector)
- polypropylene
film for capacitors - facilities in Brittany, US and
China.
studies
Studies include Marie-Paul Virard's Le Roman Des Grands
Patrons: Bernard Arnault, Vincent Bolloré,
Martin Bouygues, Jean-Marie Messier, Francois Pinault
(2001), Vincent Bollore: Enquete Sur Un Capitaliste
Au-Dessus De Tout Soupcon (Paris: Denoel 2000) by
Nathalie Raulin & Renaud Lecadre and Transport
et espaces d'entreprise: les strategies africaines du
groupe Bolloré (PDF)
by Jean Debrie.
landmarks
Bolloré group landmarks include -
1981 acquires thin paper interests from Compagnie Financière
1983 acquires French cigarette-paper company Job
1991
buys Delmas Vieljeux shipping and surface transport group
1996 gains control of plantations conglomerate Groupe
Rivaud
1997 acquires 12.5% of Bouygues,
challenging founding family's control
1998 sells Bouygues stake for US$210m profit
1998 acquires 20% stake in Pathé
before selling a month later to Vivendi
for US$220m profit
1999 gains control of Belgian shipping group AMI
1999 buys Safmarine's African shipping line SCL
1999 buys British shipping line OTAL
2000 buys 31% of Rue Impériale de Lyon (part of
Lazard Frères group), later sells stake to Crédit
Agricole for US$260m profit
2001 acquires 75% of Streampower
2002 buys Geis logistics group
2003 pays €170m for CDR Participations' 40.83% of
Compagnie des Glénans (holding company with major
stake shares in Rivaud group)
2003 sells 14.70% stake in Consortium to Unicredito and
Capitalia for €106m
2003 pays US$150m for 5% stake in Mediobanca
2003 agrees to sell Socfin Plantations operations in southern
peninsular Malaysia to Achi Jaya Plantations group for
US$132m and Lima Blas near Kuala Lumpur to United Plantations
Group for US$31m
2003 subsidiary Financière du Loch increases stake
in Gaumont to 10.6%
2004 launches Radio des Nouveaux Talents
2005 increases stake in Havas
to 20%
2005 buys Air Link (air logistics operator in India)
2005 sells maritime activities (ships and containers valued
at US$600m) to CMA-CGM Group, forms partnership between
subsidiary Delmas and CMA-CGM to run maritime agencies
in Africa
2005 launches Direct 8 digital terrestrial television
(DTT) channel
2006 increases stake in Aegis to 26%
2006 launches Direct Soir free newspaper
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