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January 19, 2012

Liliane Bettencourt, the only child of L’Oreal founder Eugene Schueller, will continue to be under the protection of her family after losing an appeal to remove her estranged daughter and her two grandsons as her guardians.

On 18 January, a French court rejected Bettencourt’s request to overturn an October ruling that said the heiress suffers from "mixed dementia" and "modestly severe” Alzheimer’s.

French family business Wendel sells asset to reduce debts

December 1, 2011

French investment company Wendel, controlled by the founding family, is to sell its stake in electrical connections business Deutsch, as it attempts to reduce its €5 billion debt faster.

The sale will see the family business divest its 89% holding in US-based Deutsch, which it first acquired in June 2006, for €1.5 billion, Wendel said in a statement. The net proceeds will amount to €954 million.

Catherine Deneuve and the family business

June 23, 2011

Catherine Deneuve is one of the last people in the world you’d expect to be providing thought leadership for family businesses. The star of Bunel’s Belle de Jour and Polanski’s Repulsion is widely lauded as one of the world’s great beauties. Indeed such is the sense that she embodies all that is good about France her face was used to represent Marianne the symbol of the French nation.

Italian family businesses breathe a sigh of relief

March 23, 2011

News that the Italian government is looking to protect local companies against unwanted takeovers is likely to be greeted with relief among family businesses in the country – at least in the immediate future.

But longer-term pressures on family businesses in Italy won't be resolved by government intervention. Nor for that matter will they be anywhere else in the world.

French advertising giant looks to expand

March 2, 2011

French outdoor advertising company JCDecaux has set a new target of doubling its company size, possibly through acquisitions of its American competitors, says a report in the Financial Times.

Co-chief executive of the fourth-largest owner of billboards in the US, Jean-Francois Decaux said to the FT: “We doubled the size of the company in the last 10 years. The name of the game now is to double it again. Obviously that cannot be done without a transforming deal.”

Wendel moves to shore up its reputation

January 18, 2011

Family-controlled investment company Wendel said that it would appeal a €1.5 million fine imposed by the French market regulator AMF, as it attempts to bolster its reputation.

In a statement on 17 January, the Paris-based company said: "Wendel will appeal this ruling at the Paris Court of Appeal, which will hear in fact and law the evidence and key arguments presented by the group in order to demonstrate that Wendel has complied with the law and the regulations in force at the time."

Hermes family tightens grip on company

January 7, 2011

The founding family of Hermes International, the luxury scarves and handbag maker, was granted the right on 6 January to create a holding company to pool family shares without having to bid for the rest of the company.

The decision, which was taken by the French stock market regulator the Autorite des Marches Financiers, gives the family better protection against the unwanted advances of fellow family-owned luxury group Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Regulators to consider Hermes family plan

January 5, 2011

French regulators will debate on 6 January whether the plan proposed by Hermes family shareholders that would prevent a hostile takeover of the company can be allowed under antitrust laws.

The family, who controls 73% of the Paris-based company, met in December to set up a holding company, which will control more than 50% of Hermes and have the first right to purchase any of the remaining family-owned shares as and when they are sold.

Latin America drives growth at Havas

September 1, 2010

Improved revenues in Latin America underpinned growth at Havas, the advertising and communications services group controlled by the Bolloré and Rodés families.

The Paris-based group recorded a 4.2% increase in revenues in the first half of 2010 to €729 million, compared with the same period last year. This was largely due to a 25% growth in business in Latin America as growth in Europe and North America fell 2.6% and 4.9% respectively.

Comment: Why family feuds aren't always bad for business

July 19, 2010

On the surface family feuds don’t look so good for business. They mean decisions are often put off as family energies get diverted to emotional disputes, not the running of the company, writes David Bain

On the surface family feuds don't look so good for business. They mean decisions are often put off as family energies get diverted to emotional disputes between members, not the running of the company, writes David Bain.