. The sun shines down, and the setting sun is like blood.
A sea of lavender flowers looks even more beautiful under the reflection of the setting sun. The fragrance of
the flowers is elegant and refreshing.
The air is filled with the aroma of lavender, which makes people feel relaxed.
In the sea of flowers, some bees and butterflies are flying among the flowers, adding a touch of vitality.
At the edge of the sea of flowers, a magnificent castle looks peaceful, serene and solemn against the backdrop of the setting sun.
This is the largest lavender farm in the Southern Hemisphere, the Bradstall Lavender Farm, which was previously purchased by the Grace Tourism Group on the island of St. Petersburg in Australia
. But now it has a new name, called Grace Lavender Manor.
Time entered 2008, and the castle in the manor had been built and decorated.
After returning to Australia from India, Barron brought his wife and others to the island and lived in the castle for the first time.
In January, the lavender fields on the estate were in full bloom, and within the castle, one could smell the delicate fragrance of the flowers, a breathtaking sight.
It's easy to forget about the world and simply enjoy the tranquility of life here.
Of course, this was a rare opportunity for Barron.
Even when he was on vacation with his family, many of his business affairs needed to be handled through the family office managed by Wang Wanting, and many of these decisions required Barron's approval.
"Your Highness, we have made an offer for Nestlé's shares in L'Oréal, but they have temporarily rejected our offer..."
"Why?"
"Because according to the agreement signed between Nestlé and L'Oréal in 2004, Nestlé is subject to restrictions on the sale of its shares in L'Oréal until 2014..."
Barron's desire to acquire L'Oréal stems from its presence in the cosmetics market. While Gucci-Hermès also has some cosmetics businesses, their scale, profitability, and profitability cannot compare to L'Oréal.
However, L'Oréal has always been controlled by the Bettencourt family, and acquiring its shares from them is likely impossible. The current controller of the Bettencourt family's L'Oréal shares is Liliane Bettencourt, daughter of founder Eugene Schueller, who has become the richest woman in France and the world.
Therefore, any attempt to acquire L'Oréal would require a move through Nestlé, the group's second-largest shareholder.
Everyone knows Nestlé, a food manufacturer.
Founded in 1867 by Henri Nestlé and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Nestlé is the world's largest food manufacturer.
Currently, Nestlé operates over 500 factories and employs 250,000 people worldwide. In 2005, Nestlé achieved annual sales of CHF 91 billion, with net profits reaching a record high of CHF 8 billion.
But why is such a company the second-largest shareholder of L'Oréal?
There's a story behind this...
L'Oréal was founded in 1907 by Eugène Schueller.
However, after his death, L'Oréal was hit by a wave of nationalizations in French companies. In
1972, the French Communist Party and the Republican Party adopted a joint government platform, which envisioned the nationalization of most companies in order to "break the domination of big capitalists."
To avoid nationalization, L'Oréal's president, Dalle, appointed by Schueller during his lifetime, persuaded Schueller's daughter, Liliane Bettencourt (wife of French politician and longtime government minister André Bettencourt), and other major shareholders to restructure the company in 1973. The
following year, in 1974, Liliane Bettencourt exchanged half of her L'Oréal shares for shares in Nestlé, a non-French company, acquiring a 3% stake in the latter. Subsequently, the Bettencourt family and Nestlé engaged in a number of capital operations in L'Oréal, with the Bettencourt family and Nestlé holding 31.0% and 29.6% of L'Oréal's shares, respectively.
These capital operations not only ensured L'Oréal's independence, but also fostered a closer bond between the two companies, each increasingly becoming the world's strongest in its respective fields.
For example, in 2003, L'Oréal and Nestlé established a joint venture, INNEOV Laboratories, which produces the renowned oral beauty brand INNEOV.
However, Liliane Bettencourt, born in 1922, signed a 10-year agreement with Nestlé in 2004 to prevent a transfer of control of L'Oréal.
The agreement stipulated that neither party could increase its L'Oréal stake during her lifetime or for six months after her death. After April 29, 2009, either party could sell its L'Oréal shares, with the other party having the right of first refusal.
Therefore, the parties would not be free to sell their L'Oréal shares until the agreement expired on April 29, 2014.
Barron's decision to take action against L'Oréal stemmed from the initial cracks within the Bettencourt family.
Just last month, Liliane Bettencourt and her daughter, Françoise Bettencourt, were embroiled in a lawsuit.
Françoise Bettencourt accused her mother of giving away a fortune worth $1 billion, accusing her of being "senile" and mentally unstable.
Liliane Bettencourt refused to be diagnosed with a mental illness and maintained her right to control her wealth.
The story behind this saga is truly bizarre.
First, Liliane Bettencourt and her husband enjoyed a very happy marriage—she was the only one of the five richest women in the world according to Forbes to remain undivorced.
Their marriage lasted 52 years, until Bettencourt's death in 2007.
The Bettencourt family is a long-standing French political power, with several members serving as councillors and mayors.
Interestingly, in her youth, Bettencourt joined a radical pro-Nazi organization, frequently holding rallies and writing articles in newspapers promoting Nazi ideology.
Lillian Bettencourt's father-in-law, L'Oréal's founder and Liliane Bettencourt's father-in-law, provided funding and a venue for the organization's meetings—located at L'Oréal's headquarters.
Bettencourt once publicly referred to Jews in the media as "hypocritical Pharisees."
As recently as 2001, a German woman sued Schueller, accusing him of purchasing a building—later L'Oréal's German headquarters—knowingly from a Nazi-looted Jewish property.
Bettencourt herself has been active in French politics, serving as Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Industry, Culture, and Foreign Affairs.
Their daughter, Françoise Bettencourt, although the third-generation legal heir to the L'Oréal Group, has remained relatively independent from the business world, instead developing a strong interest in religious studies. After studying Judaism for over a decade, she married a Jewish man named Meyer.
It's worth noting that both of Mayer's parents died in Auschwitz...
Furthermore, the "close friend" Françoise accused of receiving her mother's fortune, which totaled $1 billion, is the 61-year-old photographer Barnier.
He's a longtime friend of the Bettencourts, a friendship that began in 1987 when Barnier asked the then-65-year-old Liliane to appear in his photography for a magazine cover. Since then, he's been a frequent visitor to the Bettencourts' Paris residence, becoming a close friend.
Media reports indicate that Liliane once chartered a flight from the Seychelles to France just to retrieve Barnier's paintbrushes.
Liliane's gifts to Barnier began shortly after they met, and while her husband, André, was alive, she never objected.
After André Bettencourt's death in 2007, Liliane's closeness with Barnier intensified, prompting her daughter to take both parties to court.
Well, it's worth mentioning that Barnier and Liliane Bettencourt may not be the kind of "close friends" you think they are, because Barnier has already publicly "come out"…