Bolloré is a French investment and industrial holding group headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. The company, a paper-energy-plantations-logistics conglomerate, employs 33,000 people around the world.
In 2004, the Bolloré group ranked amongst the top 200 European companies. Whilst the company is listed on the Euronext exchange in Paris, the Bolloré family retains majority control of the company through a complex and indirect holding structure.
The company is led by Vincent Bolloré.
History
- Created in 1822, in Ergué-Gabéric, near Quimper, Brittany;
- Jean-René Bolloré who obtained a medical doctorate in 1863 was Director of the paper manufacturers, ODET.
- Gwenn-Aël Bolloré was Vice-President of the Papeteries Bolloré from 1952 to 1974.
Recent history
In late 2004 the Bolloré group began taking an interest in the advertising sector, and started building a stake in Havas, becoming its single largest share-holder. In a boardroom coup Alain de Pouzilhac was deposed as President and CEO on July 12, 2005. The Bolloré stake in Havas now stands at 26%, and the group has 3 seats on the Havas board as of June 2006. Vincent Bolloré is Havas' President.
Also in 2005, Bolloré expanded its media interests by launching the Direct 8 television station.
Towards the end of 2005, Bolloré began building a stake in the independent British media planning and buying group Aegis. As of 19 July, 2006, this stake stands at 29%[1]. Bolloré's attempts to obtain board representation have so far been repelled.
On June 6, 2006, Bolloré launched Direct Soir, a free newspaper.
Bolloré manufactures the Bolloré Blue Car, a small electric car, as a showcase for the company's range of electric power cells.
On February 17, 2009, Bolloré held talks with Bolivian President Evo Morales about the use of its lithium reserves for electric vehicle batteries.[2]
Activities
The Group's principal activities are as follows:-
- TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS: freight forwarding by sea, land and air, port, handling and shipping services, operation of shipping lines;
- PLASTIC FILM & SPECIAL PAPERS: polypropylene film for capacitors and packaging, special papers and cigarette paper packs;
- ENERGY DISTRIBUTION: distribution of petroleum and coal products;
- SPECIAL TERMINALS: design, production, integration and distribution of intelligent systems and terminals for access control;
- PLANTATIONS: rubber and palm oil production in Africa and Asia
- OTHER INTERESTS: real estate and banking sectors,
- MEDIA AND ADVERTISING: owns 28% of group Havas, the worlds 4th largest media and communications company and 29.85% in Aegis PLC a top London based Media Agency.
- TELECOMMUNICATION: owns 90% of Bolloré telecom, a French WiMAX operator
Electric vehicles
Velib
There are plans to integrate payment for the bike and car hire schemes with the ticketing systems for traditional modes of public transport. Two electric vehicle manufacturers are said to be in the frame to supply the cars: the Dassault Group and Bolloré. The former has a vehicle called the Cleanova, which employs the body of the Renault Kangoo van, while Bolloré’s Bluecar has been developed with Italian styling house Pininfarina and is due to go on sale commercially in 2009[3] .
Pininfarina B0
Pininfarina, has introduced its own electric vehicle concept, the Pininfarina B0 (that's "B Zero," not "B Oh"). The four-seat hatchback features a solid-state lithium-polymer battery, supercapacitors, and a roof- integrated solar panel to achieve a range of 153 miles. Developed in partnership with the Bolloré Group, the vehicle is slated for limited production in 2009 [4][5].
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