Groupe Bruxelles Lambert

Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) is a Belgian holding company invested in multiple industries.[2] It invests in both listed and private companies. Directed by Ian Gallienne, GBL had a net asset value of €22.5 billion and a market capitalisation of €15.3 billion at the end of September 2021.

  • Groupe Bruxelles Lambert S.A.
  • Groep Brussel Lambert N.V.
TypeNaamloze vennootschap / Société anonyme
Euronext Brussels: GBLB
BEL 20 component
IndustryHolding Company
FoundedJanuary 4, 1902
HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium
Key people
Paul Desmarais Jr., Chairman, Ian Gallienne, CEO
ProductsListed, private and alternative investments
RevenueIncrease €6.961 billion (fiscal year ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Increase €0.523 billion (fiscal year ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Increase €0.434 billion (fiscal year ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Total assetsIncrease €34.297 billion (fiscal year ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Total equityIncrease €21.788 billion (fiscal year ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Websitewww.gbl.be/en

GBL is controlled by Pargesa S.A., a Swiss entity which holds 29.13% of the outstanding shares and 44.23% of the voting rights. Pargesa S.A. itself is held jointly by the Power Corporation of Canada (Canada) and Frère (Belgium) groups, providing GBL with a stable and solid shareholder base. Since 1990, the two groups have been bound by a shareholders' agreement. This agreement, which was extended in December 2012 until 2029, includes an extension possibility.[3]

History

The company now known as GBL was founded in 1972, when Léon Lambert's two holding companies, Compagnie Lambert pour l'Industrie et la Finance (CLIF) and Cofinter, merged with Brufina and Cofinindus, two holding entities associated with the so-called Groupe de Launoit founded by Paul de Launoit.[4]: 11–12  The new company, called Compagnie Bruxelles Lambert pour la Finance et l'Industrie (CBLFI), held controlling stakes in two Belgian banks, Banque de Bruxelles and Banque Lambert, for which merger talks had been ongoing since 1969 and eventually came to fruition in 1975, creating the Bank Brussels Lambert (BBL). In August 1977, in turn, CBLFI was renamed Groupe Bruxelles Lambert.[4]: 13 

In 1976, CBLFI restructured and built up various participations in U.S. financial firms, including Lambert Brussels Witter (formerly the research boutique William D. Witter), to form Drexel Burnham Lambert, in which it was the largest shareholder with a 26 percent equity stake. In 1982, GBL sold much of its stake in BBL, reducing it from 47 to 10 percent.[4]: 13, 15  BBL was eventually acquired by ING Group in 1998, becoming ING Belgium. In 1982-1983, financier Albert Frère displaced Léon Lambert as the main driving force of GBL;[4]: 22 

Since 2012, GBL divested more and more its stakes in Total and Engie. These two companies in the energy sector that constituted 41.5% of the value of GBL in 2011, only represented 4.2% of the portfolio on 31 March 2017. Simultaneously, GBL expanded into new business segments by acquiring stakes in SGS, Umicore, Adidas, Ontex, Burberry, Parques Reunidos.and Sienna Capital S.a R.l.

Portfolio

As at 31 March 2017, the portfolio had the following (non-exhaustively).

Company % of share capital % of share in GBL portfolio
Imerys53.6%19.4%
LafargeHolcim9.4%18.1%
Adidas7.5%15.9%
SGS16.2%14.4%
Pernod Ricard7.5%12.6%
Umicore17.0%5.8%
Total0.7%4.4%
Ontex19.98%2.8%
Burberry3.0%1%

The company address is Avenue Marnix 24, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.

References
  1. "Groupe Bruxelles Lambert S.A 2021 Full Year Financial Result" (PDF). GBL. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  2. "Late Billionaire's Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA Trades At A Considerable Discount". Seeking Alpha. December 10, 2018.
  3. "Simplified shareholder structure of GBL". Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  4. Anne-Myriam Dutrieue (2010), Le baron Léon Lambert, un banquier et financier belge d’envergure internationale du XXe siècle (PDF)
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