PARIS (Reuters) - Bollore Group, the French conglomerate run by billionaire businessman Vincent Bollore, said it had signed a global partnership with E-commerce company Alibaba.
The two companies said the partnership would cover cloud computing services, clean energy, logistics and other areas such as new digital technologies and innovation.
Bollore Group, which runs a large logistics business in former French colonies in Africa, also has a stake of around 20 percent in French media giant Vivendi.
Alibaba has been expanding its logistics network at home and abroad as it works to diversify its customer base.
(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
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Vincent Bolloré (born 1952) is a French industrialist, corporate raider and businessman. He serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of investment group Bolloré.
Biography
Early life
Vincent Bolloré was born on 1 April 1952 in Boulogne-Billancourt. He attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly before graduating with a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from Université Paris X Nanterre.
Career
He started his career as an investment bank trainee at Edmond de Rothschild.
His personal investment career began when he took over the reins at his family-controlled conglomerate Bolloré, which deals in maritime freight and African trade, and paper manufacturing (cigarette and bible paper). The company he leads today employs 33,000 people around the world. He is a well-known corporate raider in France who has succeeded in making money by taking large stakes in French listed companies, in particular the building and construction group Bouygues, where he left with a sizeable capital gain after a power-struggle.
In late 2004, his investment group started building a stake in advertising group Havas, becoming its largest single shareholder. He mounted a coup and replaced Alain de Pouzilhac as Havas Chief Executive Officer on 12 July 2005. In 2005, through his family company, he expanded his media interests by launching the Direct 8 television station. Towards the end of 2005, he began building a stake in independent British media planning and buying group, Aegis. As of 19 July 2006, his stake in Aegis stood at 29%. Direct Soir, a free newspaper, was launched in June 2006. In January 2008, he manifested interest in becoming a shareholder of famed, but troubled, Italian car manufacturer Pininfarina.
The Bolloré Group also has important positions in the economies of several former French colonies in Africa (in particular Ivory Coast, Gabon, Cameroon, and Congo).
Personal Life
He is married, with four children. He is ranked 329th richest person in the world according to Forbes, with an estimated fortune of US$4 billion.
Vincent Bolloré is engaged with the French supermodel Vanessa Modely, égérie of Christian Dior and Karl Lagerfeld.
He is a close personal friend of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. It has been said that their friendship goes back over 20 years. Sarkozy has been criticized for accepting vacations from Bolloré, as did president Georges Pompidou with Vincent's father, Michel Bolloré. They have both claimed that no conflict of interest exists.
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| COMPAGNIE DE L'ODET SE | Chief Executive Officer |
Financière du Champ de Mars SA
 Financière du Champ de Mars SA Investment Banks/BrokersFinance Financière du Champ de Mars SA operates as holding company with interests in financial services. The company provides its services to the agricultural, financial, property and industrial sectors. It is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. | Chief Executive Officer |
