Family
Business Magazine E-Newsletter
September
2, 2008
Contents
1.
Anheuser-Busch CEO to consult for InBev.
2.
Newhouse family may sell Newark's Star-Ledger.
3.
Personal touch is key to family apparel firms' survival.
4.
Fostering fiscal prudence among family shareholders.
5.
Preview of Family Business Magazine's
Autumn 2008 issue.
1. Anheuser-Busch CEO to consult for
InBev. InBev NV, which is acquiring Aneuser-Busch Cos.,
will pay Anheuser CEO August Busch IV nearly $10.4 million to serve as
a consultant during the takeover, the St.
Louis Business Journal reported. A Securities and Exchange
Commission filing stated that "The consulting job, effective until
2013, would also pay Busch $120,000 a month to advise InBev on new
products, marketing programs and charities, and to meet with retailers,
wholesalers and advertisers and attend media events," the Business Journal article said. "In
exchange, Busch will get an office in St. Louis, administrative
support, a personal security detail, complimentary tickets to
A-B-sponsored events" and health care benefits, the report noted. "He
will also be eligible for a gross-up payment estimated at $13.3 million
on various change in control payments and benefits connected to the $52
billion takeover." According to the terms of the consulting deal, the
article said, Busch must agree not to say anything negative about the
company. Retired CEO August Busch III will receive $103.6 million from
the sale, the Business Journal reported.
(Source: St. Louis Business Journal,
Aug. 18, 2008.)
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2. Newhouse family may sell Newark's Star-Ledger. Donald Newhouse, president
of Advance Publications, announced that his family may have to sell the
Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.,
unless employees agree to cuts and concessions from its unionized
mailers and truck drivers by October, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Star-Ledger anticipates losses of
$35 million to $40 million this year, the article said. "The
announcement shows that the industry-wide downturn in print advertising
is forcing even a deep-pocketed owner such as the Newhouse family --
which owns more than two dozen newspapers, the big Conde Nast magazine
company and a cable-TV business -- to contemplate drastic action," the
report noted. "This was a very difficult decision to make," Newhouse
told the Journal. "We have
never sold a newspaper, from my father's time to my time." The company
has hired J.P. Morgan to help it explore sale possibilities, according
to the report. (Source: Wall
Street Journal, Aug. 1, 2008.)
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to the top.
3. Personal touch is key to family
apparel firms' survival. "The fashion world has no
shortage of family dynasties," including design houses as well as
retailers, noted a recent article in Women's
Wear Daily. In a tough economic climate -- which led retail
chain Boscov's to file for bankruptcy -- many family apparel businesses
are stressing their personal touch, the article said. At The Levy
Group, third -generation CEO Donald Levy told WWD that his family members have
learned Mandarin Chinese to better communicate with Chinese suppliers
and spend months visiting factories abroad. Debi Greenberg of Louis
Boston, founded by her great-grandfather, noted that her store features
"precisely edited" collections as opposed to mass-appeal brands,
according to the report. Carlo Teso of Giuliana Teso's GT USA unit
cited his family's "friendships and understanding partnerships" with
clients. And Willy Bogner Jr. of German sportswear firm Bogner told WWD, "Especially in challenging
environments, dependability, honesty and long-term thinking are
competitive advantages." (Source: Women's Wear Daily, Aug. 5, 2008.)
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to the top.
4. Fostering fiscal prudence among
family shareholders. In a large business family,
shareholders are likely to vary widely in their degree of understanding
of financial issues. This can create major roadblocks when important
agenda items are up for discussion. If some of the stakeholders don't
know how to properly evaluate the situation at hand, there's a chance
that the right choice won't be made. As in many other family business
situations, shareholder education can go a long way toward building
consensus and maintaining harmony. But it takes time and energy to
conduct a shareholder education program -- more so if some family
members don't consider learning about their asset to be a priority.
Families who begin talking about stewardship -- and raising the
sometimes sensitive topic of money -- when their children are young
will face fewer obstacles.
For advice on
teaching shareholders to be responsible stewards of the family
enterprise, see The Family Business
Shareholder's Handbook. Learn more about the book and see the
table of contents here.
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5. Preview of Family Business Magazine's Autumn
2008 issue. Subscribers to the award-winning print edition
of Family Business will
receive the Autumn 2008 issue later this month. This edition features
our widely cited list of the world's family companies, newly revised
and updated. Other highlights include a profile of the giant E.&J.
Gallo Winery and its second-, third- and fourth-generation employees.
See here for information on how
to subscribe.
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Don't miss our special M&A issue!
Our special annual publication, Family
Business Agenda, this year focuses on family business mergers
and acquisitions. Readers will learn about growth through acquisition,
merging corporate cultures, selling the family business, valuation
principles and more. To advertise in this special edition, contact
Scott Chase at (301) 879-1613 or scottchase@verizon.net. To
subscribe, contact Barbara Wenger at (215) 405-6072 or bwenger@familybusinessmagazine.com.
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