How much are âfamily valuesâ worth to you, in actual dollars and cents? Can you measure the cash value of the âfamily premiumâ that your company enjoys over its faceless corporate competitors? Or does your obsession with family render you vulnerable to greenmail?
The Mohn family's recent desperate maneuverings at Bertelsmann should give you pause. Bertelsmann, Europe's largest media group, is a private concern, and the fifth generation of Mohnsâwhose great-great-grandfather founded Bertelsmann in 1835âwere never in danger of losing control: They and their charitable foundation together have always held at least 74% of Bertelsmann stock. Yet this past year the Mohns spent billions to buy out a minority shareholderânot to avoid losing control, but to avoid a public listing of its stock and the public disclosure such a listing would require.