pharmaceuticals

Belgian corporate titan Albert Frère dies

European family business icon Albert Frère, who built his father’s construction supplies business into a global investment conglomerate, died on 3 December aged 92.

The Belgian billionaire founded investment holding company Compagnie Nationale a Portefeuille (CNP) and jointly controlled Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) via his family holding company Groupe Frère-Bourgeois (GFB).

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Family-controlled Indian conglomerate Piramal Group plans to make a big investment internationally as it seeks growth outside of its home market.

A spokesman for the company, which operates in a number of areas including pharmaceuticals, real estate and healthcare, told CampdenFB that the Piramal family will invest around $1.5 billion in mostly biotech companies in the US and Europe.

“The investment is part of our ongoing strategic diversification efforts,” he said.

Family-controlled pharmaceutical giant Roche said on 25 March that a member of the family shareholding group has dropped out of the pool, causing the family to lose its voting majority.

The Basel, Switzerland-based company said in a statement that family member Maja Oeri, who has 5% voting rights, dropped out of the group – called the voting pool – reducing the family pool’s voting power to 45% from 50%.