Bouygues

Bouygues S.A. (French pronunciation: [bwiɡ]) is a French engineering group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on the Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip in the CAC 40 stock market index. The group specialises in construction (Colas Group and Bouygues Construction), real estate development (Bouygues Immobilier), media (TF1 Group), and telecommunications (Bouygues Telecom). The company was founded in 1952 by Francis Bouygues and quickly secured construction opportunities from the French state, leading to it being involved in social housing (starting in 1955) and the French motorway system (starting in the 1960s). It listed on the Paris Stock Exchange in 1970 and started to diversify and internationalise during the years thereafter. During the 1980s, Bouygues acquired Screg, Sacer, and Colas. On 29 May 1996, it launched Bouygues Télécom. In 2006, the company acquired 23.26 percent of the French conglomerate Alstom. Since 1989, the company has been led by Francis Bouygues's son, Martin Bouygues, while Martin's older brother, Olivier Bouygues, is a board member. History Bouygues was founded in 1952 by Francis Bouygues, amid the reconstruction of France in the aftermath of the Second World War, to construct new buildings. Within its first two decades of operation, the company secured considerable work from the French government across several different reconstruction programmes. These included the construction of new social housing starting in 1955, the building out of the French motorway system during the 1960s, and the securing of several high-profile contracts for specific buildings, including the Parc des Princes stadium, the Palais des congrès de Paris shopping mall, and Charles de Gaulle Airport amongst others. In 1970, Bouygues was listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. In the following decade, the company endeavoured to develop an international presence as well as to diversify its activities. Furthermore, during the mid 1980s, Bouygues acquired several other domestic engineering and construction companies, including Screg, Sacer, and Colas; which was later reorganised as Colas Group. In 1987, the company started operating the television channel TF1. One year later, Bouygues moved into its new head office, the Challenger complex, in Saint-Quentin en Yvelines. On 29 May 1996, the company launched Bouygues Télécom as France's third mobile telephone operator. In the early 2000s, it was decided to refocus Bouygues's activities around the construction, telecoms and media markets. In relation to this strategic direction, the firm divested Bouygues Offshore to the Italian oil services specialist Saipem in 2002, as well as Saur to French private equity company PAI Partners in exchange for €1bn in November 2004. During June 2006, the company acquired 23.26 percent of the French industrial conglomerate Alstom. In 2008, Bouygues Telecom launched its first fixed line service; at the time, it had 9 million customers and 7,700 employees. In 2010, through its subsidiary Nerem Telecom, Bouygues acquired HGT Telecom in exchange for $170 million from Henri Benezra and his brother Avi. In June 2014, consecutively to Alstom's cession of its Energy activities to General Electric, Bouygues granted a call option to the French government, allowing it to acquire a maximum of 20 percent of Alstom, currently owned by the group. In June 2015, Bouygues publicly rejected an €10bn bid submitted by the Luxembourg-based telecoms firm Altice to purchase Bouygues Télécom from it. In May 2018, the company purchased the Australian construction company A. W. Edwards. In December 2019, Bouygues became a shareholder in Flying Whales, a French company developing rigid-structure airships for heavy-lift transport as part of a consortium of industrial investors including Groupe ADP and Air Liquide. In November 2021, Bouygues acquired the technical services business, Equans from Engie in a transaction worth €7.1bn. Business structure The company carries out the following businesses: Construction Bouygues Construction (100% share): construction, public works, energy & services, with a presence in 80 countries worldwide Colas Group (96.8% share): roadworks, construction, railways and maintenance Bouygues Immobilier (100% share): residential, corporate, commercial and hotel real estate and urban development, property development Telecoms - Media Bouygues Télécom (90.5% share): mobile phone and fixed line operator TF1 Group (43.7% share): audiovisual group; with TF1 and 9 other TV channels. Transportation BINA Istra (30.15% total ownership): Croatian joint stock company founded in 1995 to facilitate construction and subsequent management of an Istrian Y motorway Technical services Equans Financial data Source : Bouygues Major construction projects Bouygues has been involved in many major construction projects including Europe The Parc des Princes completed in 1972 The Tour First in 1974 The Musée d'Orsay completed in 1986 The Île de Ré bridge completed in 1988 The Grande Arche completed in 1989 The Channel Tunnel completed in 1994 The Bibliothèque nationale de France completed in 1995 The Pont de Normandie completed in 1995, The Stade de France completed in 1998 The expansion of Barnet Hospital completed in 2002 The redevelopment of West Middlesex University Hospital completed in 2003 The Brent Emergency Care and Diagnostic Centre completed in 2006 The expansion of Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford completed in 2010 The expansion of North Middlesex University Hospital completed in 2010 Bouygues is also involved in HS2 lot C1, working as part of joint venture, due to complete in 2031. Africa The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco completed in 1992 The Henri Konan Bédié Bridge in Abidjan, Ivory Coast completed in 2014 North America The company also built the Port of Miami Tunnel completed in 2014. Construction of the Iqaluit Airport terminal in Nunavut, Canada, completed in 2017. Asia The Gypjak Mosque in Turkmenistan, completed in 2004. The Singapore Sports Hub completed in 2014 LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension due to be completed in 2025 Head office The Bouygues head office is located at 32 Avenue Hoche in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The American architect Kevin Roche worked on this building, as well as the previous head office location, the Challenger complex in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. This complex, situated in a 30 hectares (74 acres) tract in Guyancourt, is now occupied by Bouygues Construction, one of the group's subsidiaries. Group and values Social and environmental commitment Since 2006, Bouygues has participated in the United Nations Global Compact. The group sponsors The Shift Project think tank, with several other companies such as EDF, BNP Paribas or Saint-Gobain, which promotes sustainable economic development. Controversies Bid rigging In September 2023, Bouygues Construction Expertises Nucléaires (BCEN) was fined €6.2 million after the French competition regulator found them guilty, along with five other companies, of bid rigging over tenders for work at the Marcoule nuclear site. Bouygues (UK) Ltd. v Dahl-Jensen (UK) Ltd. In this UK construction adjudication matter, the company's UK subsidiary had terminated the employment of its mechanical sub-contractor, Dahl-Jensen (UK). The adjudicator made a mistake in calculating outstanding payments due to Dahl-Jensen, which led to a Court of Appeal ruling in 2002 which stated that ... when an Adjudicator makes an error in calculating an amount payable to a party, the effect of which is to pay monies which are not due under the contract, that decision would not be void provided the Adjudicator had answered the issue that has been asked of him. Flamanville Between 2009 and 2011, Bouygues S.A. was illegally employing workers from Poland and Romania exposing them to inhuman working conditions at the construction site of the Flamanville nuclear power plant in Normandy. The company was later condemned for their practices before the court in Cherbourg and was ordered to pay sanctions of between €25,000 and €29,950. Cyberattack on Bouygues Construction SA On 30 January 2020, a ransomware-type virus was detected on Bouygues Construction's computer network although operational activity on the construction sites was disrupted. The "Maze Ransomware Gang" claimed responsibility for the attack and posted a 1.2 GB file that allegedly contained data taken from Bouygues Construction. Notes References Further reading Dominique Barjot, "Bouygues, 1952-1989: From the building industry to the service sector", econ.upf.edu, Department of Economics and Business, Pompeu Fabra University; European Business History Association (EBHA), 2004 Conference, archived from the original on 26 September 2011