Germany's Gauselmann Group, founded by Paul Gauselmann, will in future operate under the mantle of a “Gauselmann Family Foundation”, that will come into effect on January 1, 2016.
The family business, which was founded in 1957, has developed from a one-man operation into an internationally operating group in the entertainment industry with over 9,000 employees and a business volume in excess of €2bn.
In establishing a company foundation, the family members who are shareholders are aiming to keep the entire group firmly in the hands of the family and ensure its sustainable commercial viability.
“We are motivated in this by the desire not only to secure the future of our company for the next few years, but to give the entire group a real long-term vision for generations to come,” Paul Gauselmann explained.
As a consequence of this decision, the owners, Paul Gauselmann and his wife Karin Gauselmann, as well as the three sons Michael, Armin and Karsten, who between them hold 100 per cent of the group’s shares, have each incorporated their respective shares into the foundation.
However, although they have relinquished their direct interest in the company, they will as members of the Foundation Advisory Board continue to exert a decisive influence over the foundation’s fortunes and determine the leadership of the whole corporate group.
“Our aim is to continue to be a strong bulwark of the economy in this region and like this give our many thousands of employees a secure future. It is particularly important to us as a major employer and valued training company to be able to offer career prospects to generations of as many people in our home region as possible,” Armin Gauselmann said.
Transferring the shares of the current shareholders of the Gauselmann Group into the Family Foundation also precludes the risk of the company becoming fragmented if one owner were to sell his or her shares and ensures the company will continue to be run in its present form.
“Here we have been driven by the recognition that this will ensure the unity of the Gauselmann Group for many generations to come and that the company has the ability to continue as a going concern under either family or external management,” said Michael Gauselmann.
Social commitment continues to be a focus for the company and the Paul and Karin Gauselmann Foundation - with endowment capital of €10m - that promotes and supports a variety of cultural and social projects in and around the Altkreis Lübbecke district, will in future within the scope of the planned annual dividend payment receive the same financial support from the company foundation as each of the four lines of the family, enabling it to accomplish its mission in the region through even more initiatives that benefit the local community.
“For us it has always been an affair of the heart to give something back to the region and share our corporate success with the local population, and in doing so make this pleasant and attractive region even more appealing,” said Karin Gauselmann.
As sole shareholder of the Gauselmann Group, the Gauselmann Family Foundation will in future be responsible for key strategic decisions. The Foundation’s advisory board and, initially, the Foundation’s board of directors as well, will be made up predominantly of family members. The Foundation’s Advisory Board not only comprises members of the founding generation and their direct successors, but also members of their grandchildren’s generation. Alongside sons Michael, Armin and Karsten Gauselmann, the daughters of the eldest son, Janika and Sonja Gauselmann, as well as three close associates of the family, will also have a seat and vote on the advisory board.
The Family Foundation is managed by the three-person Foundation Board, whose chairman is Paul Gauselmann, with Armin Gauselmann as deputy chairman. The third member of the board is Manfred Stoffers.
