Haniel forced into the limelight
The chairman of Franz Haniel & Cie concedes that the company’s first bond sale in October made the family see the need to talk more about international trading and services group publicly
Family Companies
Resources
A series looking at how family-run businesses have been affected by the global financial crisis; how they are dealing with the challenges going forward; and the problems brought about by succession, finances and the ever-increasing number of family members
How Fuller’s cut risk as financial storm brewed
The financial storm has hit the UK brewing industry with some force but the family-owned brewer has managed to increase its profits by resisting calls to load up with more debt
Michelin treads prudently through downturn
The French tyre company has delivered consistently better returns than its key rivals, is free from any debt burden and is not limited to a niche market
United Votorantim withstands crisis
The family-owned Brazilian group is known as one of the country’s most agile organisations and its strategic thinking helped it survive the recent market turmoil
Father and son keep the show on the road
Comcast is one of the few companies that have bridged the generation gap seamlessly as one of its great strengths lies in never having had to wrestle with succession issues
Thomsons’ hard-headed shift away from print
The unsentimental decision to trade out of print media for better long-term opportunities looks like part of a pattern for the former owners of the London Times
Related content and features
European families
Pasta barons with enough on their plate
Barilla family opts for strength and safety rather than dramatic expansion
Warning on Mittelstand groups’ financing
The inability of some of Germany’s Mittelstand groups to tap financial markets could lead to problems, says Franz Markus Haniel, chairman of Franz Haniel & Cie, the trading and services conglomerate
Brighter outlook for Schaeffler
The German car parts group has returned from the brink to shatter myths about family owners after it restructured its debt load, persuading the banks to extend maturities
Asian families
Blood ties serve business well during crisis
Family-owned companies say they have fared better than other groups amid the global downturn thanks in part to their structure and attitude towards risk, diversification and leverage
Stability and agility steer Mahindra’s success
The $6bn tractors-to-software Indian conglomerate learned from large private equity groups’ ability to juggle their diverse portfolios of investments and improved upon it
Wisdom of generations pays off at New World
The family of Cheng Yu-tung, Hong Kong’s sixth-richest with an estimated net worth of $3.8bn, has the ability to diversify, which has proved crucial to success in the territory
From struggling student to Forbes rich list
Lucio Tan’s net worth is at $1.7bn and he owns the Philippines’ biggest cigarette company, its largest airline and flag carrier and prime properties in several cities in China and Hong Kong
