RZ-100-wt4-E-flipbook-240702 - Flipbook - Page 84
6 | 1986-1990
The management buy-out
‘An adventure story’
focus on sales and production. An external candi-
In the early 1980s, the seed sector begins to consolidate. Large listed
date is being sought for Herman Beeftink’s second
corporations, especially in the oil, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
area of focus, namely finance, IT and human
sectors, are showing an interest in plant breeding companies as they
resources. BP also wants to appoint a suitably
realise that those companies have great strategic value. After all,
experienced business manager to the Board.
they are the basis for the world’s food supply. It is not easy to build
By means of an application process, the position
a vegetable breeding company from scratch. It requires specific
is filled on 1 January 1986 by the then 30-year-old
knowledge and a good foundation of genetic material. In short,
Ben Tax, a business economist and chartered
the entry barriers are high, so that the acquisition of existing
accountant. Anton and Ben get on well from the
companies is the only way to gain a foothold in the sector.
start, and they complement each other.
On 1 July 1986, Jaap Zwaan sells the remaining
In the Zwaan family, a problem arises when one of
Rijk Zwaan shares to BP-Nutrition (part of British
the family members wants to sell their shares in
Petroleum). When Jaap retires in 1987, he is
Rijk Zwaan and there is no interest or possibility
succeeded by his nephew Maarten Zwaan, who
among the other family members to acquire the
then takes over the Research and Development
shares being offered. In 1982, it is decided to sell
focus area on the Board.
a minority package of shares to British Petroleum
(BP). As part of the deal, BP stipulates that an
obligation to offer would apply to it if the family
wanted to sell more shares. This transaction is
partly driven by Jaap Zwaan’s view that Rijk Zwaan
would eventually be too small to compete with
the large listed companies. Moreover, there is no
suitable successor to Jaap in the family.
Jaap Zwaan himself didn’t want to wait too long
to retire, and the second Board member, Herman
Beeftink, was set to retire on 1 April 1987 at the age
of 65. It is decided to have a three-man Board.
Herman Beeftink is succeeded by Anton van
Doornmalen (on 1 October 1985). For the past ten
years, he has been a member of the Board of the
successful German subsidiary Rijk Zwaan Welver,
together with Peter Riechert. Anton will mainly
82
Ben Tax and Jaap Zwaan during the 1986
annual party in Engels, Rotterdam.
Rijk Zwaan | Moving forward together
