Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), is a Belgian

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

invested in various sectors within companies that can be considered marketleaders and in which it can play an active role as a professional shareholder over the long term. In the last few years, the holding largely divested its stakes in the energy sector to turn to

sustainable growth Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desi ...

company focused on consumer goods or services. The firm is directed by Ian Gallienne. The company had a

net asset value Net asset value (NAV) is the value of an entity's assets minus the value of its liabilities, often in relation to open-end, mutual funds, hedge funds, and venture capital funds. Shares of such funds registered with the U.S. Securities and Exc ...

of EUR 22.5 billion and a market capitalisation of EUR 15.3 billion at the end of September 2021. GBL invests in both listed and private companies. The company is controlled by Pargesa S.A., 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.

History

Groupe Bruxelles Lambert was founded in 1972, when the Lambert banking family merged their holding companies ″Compagnie Lambert pour l'Industrie et la Finance″ and ″Cofinter″ with two holding companies belonging to the ″Groupe de Launoit″. The new firm controlled two Belgian banks, the ″ Banque Lambert″ and the ″

Banque de Bruxelles Bank Brussels Lambert (BBL, french: Banque Bruxelles Lambert) was a Belgian bank that was created through merger in 1975 and became part of ING Group in 1998. It provided retail and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in Belgi ...

″, which were subsequently merged in 1975 to form the ″ Banque Bruxelles Lambert″ (BBL). Groupe Bruxelles Lambert sold BBL to the ″

ING Group The ING Group ( nl, ING Groep) is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, wholesale banki ...

″ in 1998, which is now known as ″

ING Belgium The ING Group ( nl, ING Groep) is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, wholesale banki ...

″. GBL is best known in the United States as one of the namesakes of

Drexel Burnham Lambert Drexel Burnham Lambert was an American multinational investment bank that was forced into bankruptcy in 1990 due to its involvement in illegal activities in the junk bond market, driven by senior executive Michael Milken. At its height, it was ...

, the investment bank that pioneered trading in

junk bond In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit events ...

s. The Lamberts owned a research boutique, William D. Witter (also known as Lambert Brussels Witter), which merged with then-Drexel Burnham in 1976. In return, GBL received a 26% stake in the merged company, and six seats on the board. 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 Umicore N.V.. formerly '' Union Minière'', is a multinational materials technology company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Formed in 1989 by the merger of four companies in the mining and smelting industries, Umicore has since reshaped ...

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacture ...

Ontex Ontex is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Savoie department The following is a list of the 273 communes of the Savoie department of France. The communes ...

Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessorie ...

Parques Reunidos Parques Reunidos (meaning "Reunited Parks") is an international entertainment operator based in Madrid, Spain. The group operates over 60 parks in about dozen countries. Parques Reunidos operates theme and amusement parks, zoos, water parks, fam ...

.and Sienna Capital S.a R.l.

Portfolio

As at 31 March 2017, the portfolio had the following (non-exhaustively). The company address is Avenue Marnix 24, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in Brussels Companies listed on Euronext Brussels Investment management companies of Belgium Drexel Burnham Lambert Holding companies of Belgium Belgian companies established in 1902 Holding companies established in 1902