Vincent Bolloré, the CEO of Bolloré Group. The businessman is a close friend of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and has built an impressive reputation

Worth a reported $7.2bn, Vincent Bolloré has established himself as one of France’s most successful businessmen over the last three decades. A close friend of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Bolloré has established himself firmly in the elite of French society, playing an integral role in many of its industries.

Born in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt in 1952, Bolloré studied at the Lycée Janson de Sailly, before embarking on a law degree while simultaneously conducting a career in investment. His great grandfather was paper tycoon René Bolloré, who took control of the paper merchant d’Odet in 1863. The company was then owned and run by successive members of the Bolloré family. In 1972, the firm diversified into a number of different areas, but soon hit financial difficulties and was beset by debt trouble. Eventually sold to investment group Edmond de Rothschild three years later, it is there that Vincent Bolloré learned his trade as an investment trainee.

Bolloré trained at the investment bank, while at the same time studying a law degree at the Université Paris X Nanterre. By 1981, Bolloré agreed to buy back his family business from Edmond de Rothschild for the nominal price of just one franc, and he quickly set about drastically restructuring the firm. The company, now called Le Groupe Bolloré, focused on conducting deals in the maritime freight business, on top of the existing paper manufacturing operations, and Bolloré began to explore opportunities in the African market. He quickly turned the business around, making it profitable and restoring it to its former health. By 1985, Bolloré had diversified the operations of the company into a range of areas, largely through strategic acquisitions.

The company now conducts its business in industries including advertising, electric vehicles, broadcast media, logistics, freight, energy distribution, rubber and palm oil production, real estate, banking, and telecommunications. It is one of the 500 largest companies in the world, with reported revenues of €10.6bn last year. However, in spite of his success (or perhaps because of it) Bolloré has caused a good deal of controversy.

Corporate raider
As an investor, Bolloré has a reputation for ruthlessness. Earlier this year, US hedge fund Muddy Waters released a note stating why it was taking a long-term position in Bollore’s holding company, having not previously been aware of the man. “We had never heard of BOL’s controlling shareholder, Vincent Bolloré, until we came across BOL. We were, therefore, surprised to learn that he has been one of the sharpest-elbowed activist investors in Europe over the past three decades. During this time, he has compounded BOL shareholder wealth at an outstanding rate.”

The report went on to describe Bolloré as “a solid business operator, rather than a » purely financial investor”, adding: “His modus operandi is to identify attractive industries and geographies, search for acquisition targets within them, and then to improve their operations. He is also known for patiently building stakes in public companies, and then agitating for change at opportune moments.”

One of Bolloré’s most high-profile hostile takeovers happened in 1997, when he bought an increasing number of shares in leading European construction firm Bouygues. Once he had built up his holding to 10.2 percent, he unveiled himself to the Bouygues brothers, who controlled the company. While they at first believed his intentions to be friendly, agreeing to join their holdings together, it soon emerged that he was seeking control of the firm. Having joined the board of the company, he quickly set about trying to force the sale of the group’s telecoms business, Bouygues Telecom. This was followed by a rejection of the group’s accounting, which resulted in the Bouygues brothers arranging for a vote to cancel their agreement with Bolloré. While he opposed the motion, it was eventually passed. Bolloré’s efforts to take control and sell off Bouygues Telecom proved unsuccessful, but he would soon sell his shares, leading to a profit of 1.5bn francs in just one year.

Two years later, Bolloré acquired a stake in a French holding company that owned 17 percent of world-renowned banking group Lazard. He felt that the company – run by CEO Michel David-Weil, a Lazard family member – had fallen behind in the market and needed to be split up. After a tense meeting with David-Weil, Bolloré increased his share of the group to 31 percent, before eventually conceding defeat in his efforts to break up the firm. However, despite another apparent setback, Bolloré was again able to sell his stock for a considerable profit.

He followed up his Lazard investment with a 2002 investment in French multinational manufacturing company Vallourec. Building his stock to the point at which he was the company’s biggest shareholder, Bolloré began agitating for Vallourec to acquire the remaining shares of Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes, a joint partnership between the company and German firm Mannesmann, established in 1997. However, Mannesmann’s holding had since been bought by Vallourec’s other leading shareholder, Salzgitter, which did not want to cede control over the firm. Bolloré eventually persuaded the board to back his proposal, buying the remaining 45 percent holding for $710.5m. The move pushed Vallourec’s share price up by 26 percent in one day, and eventually turned into a highly profitable decision for both the company and Bolloré.

Advertising ambitions
Towards the end of 2004, Bolloré’s company began to gradually increase a stake it had in French multinational advertising and public relations firm Havas. Having secured control of the company through a boardroom coup that ousted CEO and Chairman Alain de Puzilhac, Bolloré became Chairman in 2005. He held onto his holding in Havas until earlier this year, when he sold a 22.5 percent stake for roughly €600m. However, the Bolloré Group still retains a controlling interest in the company, and Vincent’s son Yannick is currently Havas CEO.

Bolloré came to the attention of the UK market in 2005, when he began buying up a share in British advertising group Aegis. Having built his stake in Havas the year before, his move into the UK market suggested an intention to merge the two firms. Despite accumulating a stake of 29 percent in Aegis, he was unable to get a seat on the board, and eventually announced plans to sell his stake in Aegis in 2012 to Japanese rival Dentsu, securing a €450m profit.

Since disposing of 22.5 percent of his stake in Havas, Bolloré has turned his attention to another French media giant, Vivendi. He has been steadily growing his holding in Vivendi for a number of years, eventually becoming Chairman last summer. Earlier this year, he extended his stake to 12 percent. However, Bolloré has been criticised by many for interfering with the editorial output of the firm’s acclaimed TV network Canal Plus. This included plans to cancel the wildly popular French satirical show Les Guignols de l’info, which pokes fun at establishment figures throughout the country. Some have even speculated that Bolloré wants to axe the influential programme before the French presidential campaign begins, perhaps to aid his friend Sarkozy, who is likely to run once again. It has proved yet another controversial moment in his career.

Future plans
Aside from his media ambitions, Bolloré has been a strong proponent of electric cars, helping to launch the Bolloré Bluecar in 2011. His ambition in this area is not, however, down to any particular passion for the environment, but more because he feels it is a good business decision. In an interview with Advertising Age in 2010, Bolloré spoke of his motivation towards work, denying that he had a passion for it, other than to extend his family legacy: “I have no passion in my work except to create and develop Bolloré Group, of which I am the sixth generation. It’s a fantastic story to have six generations before you, 188 years, it’s like a saga.” He added: “I love this story and my passion is that – not the car, the advertising or the oil business – it’s the company in general.”

Bolloré has said he will retire in 2022, shortly before his 70th birthday. He told Advertising Age that this move will allow a new generation of his family to take control of the business, while he takes a well-earned break. “It’s the 17th of February – save the date, we will have big fiesta. It’s the second century of the Bolloré Group. We will start the third century and it will be the seventh generation. February the 18th, after the big celebration, I will go for a long holiday.” Few could argue that this break will be undeserved.