The Société des Bains de Mer (SBM; ), officially the Société Anonyme des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers à Monaco
[ (; ), is a publicly traded company registered in the ]Principality of Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a semi-enclave borde ...
. SBM owns and manages the Monte Carlo Casino
The Monte Carlo Casino, officially named Casino de Monte-Carlo, is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monaco. It includes a casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo.
The Casino de Monte-Carlo ...
, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco.
With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Charles III, Prince of Monaco, Prince Charl ...
and the Hôtel de Paris
The Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo is a luxury hotel that is located at Place du Casino in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was opened in 1864 as part of the development of Monaco by the Société des Bains de Mer de Monaco, Société des Bains de Mer. In M ...
in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
.
History
SBM was founded on 2 April 1863 by a sovereign order issued by Charles III, Prince of Monaco. He ceded the company to the businessman François Blanc
François Blanc (; 12 December 1806 – 27 July 1877), nicknamed "The Magician of Homburg" and "The Magician of Monte Carlo", was a French entrepreneur and operator of casinos, including the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco. His daughter, Marie-F� ...
for 1.7 million gold francs for the privilege of exploiting the monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
on gambling in the Principality of Monaco for 50 years. It was initially funded with capital of eight million francs divided into 32,000 shares.
Basil Zaharoff
After World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the casino in Monte Carlo was in trouble. The world had changed, particularly the world of money, and the Prince of Monaco, Louis II, believed the casino's aged owner, Camille Blanc, had lost touch. As the casino supplied the principality with revenue, he sought to replace Blanc and bring in fresh business management. For assistance, he approached Basil Zaharoff, an international financier and arms dealer who had long been a patron of the '' Côte d’Azur''. Zaharoff managed to get hold of the shares and, with the aid of the Prince, shouldered Blanc out and became the casino's master. Zaharoff brought in fresh administration and the result paid huge dividends.
Aristotle Onassis
In 1953, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; , ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine business magnate. He amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was marri ...
bought up the shares of SBM via the use of front companies in the tax haven
A tax haven is a term, often used pejoratively, to describe a place with very low tax rates for Domicile (law), non-domiciled investors, even if the official rates may be higher.
In some older definitions, a tax haven also offers Bank secrecy, ...
of Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
and took control of the organisation, moving his headquarters into the Old Sporting Club on Monaco's Avenue d'Ostende shortly after. Onassis's takeover of the SBM was initially welcomed by Monaco's ruler, Prince Rainier III, as the country required investment, but Onassis and Rainier's relationship had deteriorated by 1962 in the wake of the boycott of Monaco by the French president, Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
.
Onassis and Rainier had differing visions for Monaco. Onassis wished the country to remain a resort for an exclusive clientele, but Rainier wished to build hotels and attract a greater number of tourists. Monaco had become less attractive as a tax haven in the wake of France's actions, and Rainier urged Onassis to invest in the construction of hotels. Onassis was reluctant to invest in hotels without a guarantee from Rainier that no other competing hotel development would be permitted, but promised to build two hotels and an apartment block. Unwilling to give Onassis his guarantee, Rainier used his veto to cancel the entire hotel project, and publicly attacked SBM for their ‘bad faith’ on television, implicitly criticising Onassis. Rainier and Onassis remained at odds over the direction of the company for several years and, in June 1966, Rainier approved a plan to create 600,000 new shares in SBM to be permanently held by the state, which reduced Onassis's stake from 52% to under a third. In the Supreme Court of Monaco, the share creation was challenged by Onassis, who claimed that it was unconstitutional, but the court found against him in March 1967. Following the ruling, Onassis sold his holdings in SBM to the state of Monaco for US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
9.5 million ($ as of 2015), and left the country.
21st century
In 2005, SBM opened the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort.
In 2011, the company opened its first non-European establishment in the United Arab Emirates.
In 2013, SBM celebrated its 150th anniversary on Monaco's place du Casino: a high end picnic imagined by world known Monégasque chef Alain Ducasse.
Ownership
The ownership of The Société des Bains de Mer consists of: the Government of Monaco (59.47%), businessman Aaron Frenkel via Equity Finance & Investment Ltd. (7.8%), the LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...
conglomerate (UFIPAR SAS) (5%), and GEG Investment Holdings (4.99%).
Business activities
The Société des Bains de Mer operates in the accommodation, dining
A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in a ...
, entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...
, and gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...
services. SBM manages and owns casinos, hotels, restaurants, bars, night clubs, spas, beach clubs, and golf clubs. Fifty-two of their fifty-eight properties are located in Monaco.
SBM opened its first non-European establishment on Saadiyat Island
Saadiyat Island (; ', for "Island of Happiness") is a natural island and a Cultural tourism, tourism-cultural environmentally friendly project for Culture of the United Arab Emirates, Emirati heritage and culture that is located in Abu Dhabi, U ...
, Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
, United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
, in September 2011. SBM pulled out in 2014.
SBM is Monaco's largest employer, with 4436 employees.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Societe des bains de mer de Monaco
1863 establishments in Monaco
Companies established in 1863
Hospitality companies of Monaco
Companies listed on Euronext Paris
Aristotle Onassis