Defoe Fournier & Cie.
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| Defoe Fournier & Cie AG | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private partnership, incorporated |
| Founded |  Paris, France, 1824 |
| Headquarters |  Vienna, Austria |
| Industry | Investment Company |
| Employees | 17 (excluding subsidiaries and investment holdings) |
| Website | defoefournier.com
|
Defoe Fournier & Cie. is an investment company taking strategic and passive investment positions in various industries, investing only partner capital. No outside investors are admitted into investment activities. Currently Defoe Fournier & Cie. conducts its investment activities in the private placement marketplace and mainly acts as investor in large project financing transactions. It coinvests with alikes of ABN AMRO and HSBC. Many offshore oil drilling platforms, power generation plants and toll roads were funded by the group's investments, and investments often involve large ownership positions in blue chip European companies.
[edit] History
Founded as Defoe Fournier & Cie. in 1824 Paris by Anatole Defoe and Mathis Fournier, it became a leading gold bullion trading house, establishing itself as a gold custodian and transfer agent. [1]
It was considered to be one of the most reliable groups and was recognized by many French and Belgian colony rulers who appointed Defoe Fournier & Cie. as their keepers of wealth. The utmost cofidentiality maintained by Defoe Fournier & Cie. along with absolute financial prudence were the cornerstones of its business. [2]
Over next 180 years Defoe Fournier & Cie. did not really change. It was renamed to Banque Defoe and in 1970 was relocated to Luxembourg, when it was a bank with very tight lips to the very wealthy European establishment, with just 70 employees, working under the governance of 30 or so partners. Dozens of subsidiaries and business units reported to the bank and its partners. With over $5 billion in capital, the bank was considered to be very solid. It never solicited business, and its partners, mostly hailing from European wealthy dynasties, were the discreet face of the bank, which had no obvious presence and its single Luxembourg office had no name plate.
In June of 2007, the group reverted its name back to Defoe Fournier & Cie. and became an investment company.[3][4]
[edit] References
- ^ Archives de France: Centre des archives du monde du travail (The Centre for Archives of the Workplace). Retrieved March 11, 2003.
- ^ Archives de France: Centre des archives d'Outre Mer (The Centre for Archives of Overseas Territories). Retrieved March 11, 2003.
- ^ Royal Dutch Shell Plc private placement prospectus, 1982.
- ^ ABN AMRO project finance prospectus, 2002.
