Pargesa Holding
| Pargesa Holding SA
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|---|---|
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| legal form | Corporation |
| ISIN | CH0021783391 |
| founding | 1981 |
| Seat | Geneva , Switzerland |
| management | Aimery Langlois-Meurinne ( Managing Director ) Paul Desmarais ( Chairman of the Board ) |
| sales | CHF 5.695 billion (operating income , 2007) |
| Branch | Holding company |
| Website | www.pargesa.ch |
The Pargesa Holding SA , based in Geneva, is a 1981 Albert Frère founded Swiss holding company . It serves as the parent company of the Pargesa Group, which is active in various areas of industry and the service sector through its investments. The company, which is listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange, focuses on a small number of heavyweight investments.
Based on an agreement reached in 1990, Power Financial Corporation and Frère-Bourgeois / Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille jointly control Pargesa Holding SA through the Dutch holding company Parjointco NV with a share of 50.1 percent of the capital and 62.9 percent of the votes. A further 14.6 percent of the capital or 19.8 percent of the votes are held by BNP Paribas SA .
Holdings
Pargesa has held direct control of the Belgian Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) since 1982 with a capital share of 49.2 percent and a share of the votes of 50.9 percent . In addition, it holds a majority stake in Imerys , the world's leading group in the processing of minerals, directly and indirectly through GBL, with 54.1 percent of the capital and 69.9 percent of the voting rights . In addition, Pargesa holds important stakes in the French Suez Group (9.4 percent), the French oil company Total (3.4 percent), the world's leading building materials manufacturer Lafarge (19.7 percent) and the French wine and spirits through GBL -Manufacturer Pernod Ricard (6.3 percent).
The 25.1 percent stake in the German media group Bertelsmann , held indirectly via GBL, was sold in July 2006.
Pargesa group
The Pargesa Group comprises the two segments Holdings and Imerys .
The Holdings segment comprises Pargesa and GBL as well as the wholly owned subsidiaries of both companies. The main business purpose of the companies grouped in the Holdings segment is the administration of investments .
The Imerys business segment comprises the Imerys Group with its three business divisions: performance minerals and pigments , building materials and monolithic products, as well as refractory , abrasive and filter minerals .
On a consolidated basis, the Pargesa Group's operating income, which includes Imerys sales, in 2007 was 5.695 billion Swiss francs.