Presentation of the Bouygues group

Created by Francis Bouygues in 1952, Bouygues is a diversified industrial group with a strong corporate culture. Its businesses focus on two sectors: construction, with Bouygues Construction (building, civil works and electrical contracting), Bouygues Immobilier (property) and Colas (roads), and telecoms/media, with TF1 and Bouygues Telecom.

Bouygues in brief

	Chairman & CEO: Martin Bouygues, appointed on 5 September 1989
	Subsidiaries: Bouygues Construction, Bouygues Immobilier, Colas, TF1, Bouygues Telecom
	Stake:  At 31 March 2010, Bouygues owned 30.8% of Alstom
	Headcount at 31 December 2009: 133,971
	Sales: €31.4 billion in 2009, of which €9.7 billion on international markets
	Net profit attributable to the Group: €1.3 billion in 2009
	Listing: Paris Stock Exchange, Euronext Paris (Compartment A), CAC 40 index
	Market capitalisation: €12.9 billion at 31 December 2009
	Geographical scope: Bouygues has operations in over 80 countries

Key dates in the Group's history

1970s: First listing on the Paris Stock Exchange (1970), break into the civil works market (Parc des Princes stadium, 1972), creation of Bouygues Offshore (oil and gas contracting, 1974) and Maison Bouygues (catalogue homes, 1978). 

 .............................................................................................................................
 

1980s: In 1984, the Group acquired Saur, France’s third largest water company. In 1986, Bouygues became the world's leading construction firm when it acquired France's largest roadworks group (Colas, Screg and Sacer). In 1987, Bouygues became the operator of newly-privatised TF1, France's leading television channel.

.............................................................................................................................

1990s: The Group continued its development on international construction markets and in the media sector and launched Bouygues Telecom in 1994.

.............................................................................................................................

2000s: The Group refocused on two sectors: construction and telecoms/media. Bouygues Offshore was sold to Saipem in 2002 and Saur to PAI Partners in November 2004. In July 2000, the Group launched an exchange offer for its subsidiary Colas, of which it now owns 96.8%, and increased its stake in Bouygues Telecom from 34% in 1996 to 89.5% in September 2007.

.............................................................................................................................

In April 2006, Bouygues acquired the French government’s 21% stake in Alstom, with which it concluded a cooperation agreement. The Group thus expanded into new high-growth business lines: transport and power. At 31 March 2010, Bouygues owned 30.8% of Alstom.

The Group's subsidiaries

Bouygues Construction's strategy is based on its expertise in complex projects, its technical and financial engineering skills and a sound track record. The company generates nearly half its sales outside France. Ongoing projects include the First Tower in Paris business district La Défense, Surrey Hospital in Canada, Pusan port in South Korea, the Gautrain rail link in South Africa, the new Tangiers container port in Morocco and the New Tyne Crossing in Newcastle (UK).

Bouygues Immobilier, France’s leading property developer, has embarked on an ambitious sustainable development policy. The company is building France’s first large-scale positive-energy building, Green Office^® in Meudon, outside Paris. After a sharp downturn in the property market in 2009, Bouygues Immobilier’s residential property business has improved thanks to its positioning in the entry-level housing segment and the French government stimulus plan. Bouygues Immobilier is taking a cautious approach to the commercial property sector. 

Colas, the world's leading roadbuilder, is an integrated group that has diversified out of its core business of building and maintaining roads and motorways into complementary activities such as safety, roadmarkings, services and concessions.

TF1, the leading French general-interest TV channel with an audience share of 26.1%¹ in 2009, is also an integrated media group that is developing a range of complementary activities in buoyant market segments alongside its core business.

Bouygues Telecom, which rejected the first round of conditions for the award of UMTS licences in France in 2001, now covers 75% of the French population with its 3G+ network. Having become an Internet Service Provider (ISP), it launched the Bbox broadband router on its own fixed network in October 2008. In 2009, Bouygues Telecom launched ideo, a groundbreaking quadruple-play service that combines the best of both worlds, mobile and fixed. With over 10 million mobile and 311,000 fixed-line customers, Bouygues Telecom remains true to its successful positioning based on simple, useful and affordable services.

¹Individuals aged 4 and over

(Updated: March 2010)