Subject

Created as Société Financière deTransports et d’Entreprises Industrielles, with a capital of 10 million gold-franc (or about 30 million €) at the initiative of the German Union Electrizitäts Gesellschaft, a subsidiary of Thompson-Huston, sister company of the US-based General Electric, together with 36% from Belgian banks (Cassel, Allard and Mathieu). The purpose was to fund the develop of a tram-based transport system. So for the President of the new company the President of the Belgian railways was chosen. The company soon expanded into Germany, Belgium, the rest of Europe, and Argentina. It extended to electricity generation in Turkey. Since 1945, it has become active in four continents and about 30 countries. In 1964 the Lambert Group began a hostile bid for the shares, counter-attacked by the Boël family (related to Solvay) and Société Générale de Belgique. Lambert failed. In 1998 the Italian De Benedetti tried to buy the Société Générale. This ended with the Boël family in control. So the group moved to consumers goods and services. Today it is an important shareholder of Danone, Delhaize, Suez, Axa, Richemont (i.e. Cartier, Dunhill, Montblanc, etc.) and Société Européenne de Satellites. An example of a financial holding company, the Belgian way.