Vincent Beaufils

""Vincent led this operation with all the cunning of a peasant from the Millevaches plateau, who takes out his beast, shows it at the market, brings it back to the farm, and lets the rumor swell," appreciates this close associate of Bolloré, who knows the region well. Let's judge: in 2007, Vivendi already wanted to sell Universal Music to reduce its debt, and found no one to buy the company, which was nevertheless the world leader, at the proposed price of 7 billion euros; in 2014, with the first encouraging results of streaming, Jean-René Fourtou had received an offer of 13 billion; not expensive enough, Bolloré believes, "Universal can go on its own for 25 billion"; indeed, in 2018, Oddo-BHF bank surprised with an estimate of 20 billion; and, two years later, the sale of the first two 10% tickets of Universal will be based on 30, then 33 billion; before the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, on the day of the listing in September 2021, exploded its valuation to... 45 billion euros. More than the market capitalization of Vivendi, when it still owned this exceptional asset!""

""It turned out to be a resounding success," notes a slightly jealous Lagardère shareholder. "And above all, Vincent could not fail to notice that the three global publishing leaders are European-Bertelsmann, Pearson, and Hachette-which aligns well with his strategy of championing non-Anglo-Saxon media.""

""Vincent manages and thinks like an industrialist. He was one of the first to speak in terms of the global market in his activities [capacitors, logistics, transport, oil...]. He should not, therefore, be reduced to a person who only relies on opportunistic moves.""

"It must be said that the holder of the second greatest fortune in the world has enough to impress, even Bolloré, twenty times less endowed, according to Challenges' ranking. The latter acknowledges it with humor, when he says to those around him: "He is truly stronger than me. If I had invested the money I earned in LVMH stocks, I would be much richer...". However, the two billionaires started their journey almost at the same time, in the early 1980s, following very parallel paths, without almost ever crossing paths: they are only known to have one common investment, before Lagardère: the music channel Mezzo, acquired on a 50/ 50 basis by Les Échos (owned by LVMH) and Canal +, in July 2019. But for the rest, what similarities!"

"The emblematic example of this cultural change, for the better, is the odyssey of the little bear Paddington: a character born in publishing, he became the hero of two films produced by Studiocanal-the third installment will be released in 2022-then expanded into derivative products (plush toys, games...) before returning to the world of entertainment (video games, musicals, TV series)... "The model is Disney," explains Bolloré. Their inspiration was fading, they reacted. We need to seek out talents. Spot them, sign them, coach them. Especially at Canal and in its catalog, the source of all French cinema.""

"At the turn of the century, the majority of the workforce was employed in two factories that produced plastic film, a legacy of thin paper for capacitors. But already, teams were focusing on what was to become the group's gem: energy storage, notably through a "solid" battery recognized as "the most promising technology" in the company's official language."

""Once again, a fool goes to fetch the fox and opens the henhouse door for him, mocks a knowledgeable expert, both in the media and in the Bolloré method (see Chapter V). And not content with bringing him in, he divests himself of his limited partnership company, which protected the entire system, in exchange for a plate of lentils: by promising Arnaud to remain CEO of Lagardère for a six-year term, with all the related remuneration elements, Vincent removes the final obstacle to his control and can launch his takeover bid." However, it is not certain that, once the takeover bid is completed, the very stingy Bolloré will let Lagardère maintain its current lifestyle, estimated at 1 million euros per month in the company's accounts..."

""And there, I saw how Vincent made a very courageous and very social decision," testifies Jean-Guy Le Floch, the current owner of the Breton clothing company Armor-Lux, recruited as a neighbor through a small advertisement in Ouest-France and the first outsider to lead the group. Even though he has a more ecumenical view than me when it comes to territory, he absolutely wanted to preserve all the jobs out of respect for the workers who had worked with his family over the years. And he invested significant funds in plastic film technology for food packaging, which we did not have.""

""As Vincent managed to convince Amber to be patient, he had all the cards"

"But he also has the ability to detect where the money is and to extract it from obscure or undervalued subsidiaries."

"Nothing either for this media professional who is unemployed, to whom the future tycoon had promised, on his honor, a well-filled permanent position."

""With common traits of the tribe that he pushes to the extreme. More of a corsair, as he adds to the self-confidence of a tycoon the relaxation of a privileged son, so that nothing scares him. This hybrid of the Little Prince and Machiavelli does not believe in prohibitions and rejects the very idea of the impossible."

""Bolloré is a solipsist," explains the inventor of Lebreton. Solipsism? "The concept that the self, with its sensations and feelings, constitutes the only existing reality that one can be sure of,""

""He is the king of optionality, especially when the option is free, which is the basics of finance." In short, as a business banker who knows him by heart says, "Vincent never lies. He has his own truth." And he could even add that it is subject to change, as circumstances dictate..."

""I have finally understood the usefulness of power," Caligula (Act I, Scene IX) says. "It gives a chance to the impossible. Today, and for the time to come, freedom knows no boundaries.""

""Of all the bosses I've had, he is the least sensitive to his image," notes the communication manager of one of the empire's satellites. "He has a sense of time that is so unique to him, and nothing affects him.""

"Let us take the Kessler doctrine a step further: "To succeed, an entrepreneur must not have any emotions," says the economist boss who knows him well."

""My approach intrigued people, it had something a little crazy about it. My offensive attitude, which resembled more of an outburst than a carefully thought-out decision, was going to win people"

""I'm told that we have no certainty about the profitability of this investment. That's true. It's not a problem for us. At some point, you have to start and take the risk. The story of a company is inevitably filled with risks, adventures. With one imperative: these adventures must be reasonable in relation to the group's wealth and, in the case of the battery, we have the means to take this risk.""