Europe's brightest stars
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Outstanding companies from across the European Union were honored with 'Best of European Business' award at the competition's grand finale in Brussels on February 21.
Following a thorough analysis of the corporate performance of over 6,000 companies in Europe's strongest economies, the winners of the pan-European 'Best of European Business' award were crowned at the annual European Business Summit in Brussels on February 21. Prizes were presented in two core categories: 'Growth' and 'Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions.' Leading Portuguese energy supplier, GalpEnergia took home the only award in the 'Growth' category. Global insurance giant AXA and leading oil refiner/petrol retailer PKN Orlen from Poland won the 'Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions' prizes.
A special "Green Business" was awarded to German chemical company, BASF, for its commitment to mainstreaming sustainable energy strategies into its overall business.
Vincent Mercier, Member of Roland Berger's Executive Committee introduced the awards ceremony noting how much the world had changed since the inception of the competition in 2004.
Following a thorough analysis of the corporate performance of over 6,000 companies in Europe's strongest economies, the winners of the pan-European 'Best of European Business' award were crowned at the annual European Business Summit in Brussels on February 21. Prizes were presented in two core categories: 'Growth' and 'Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions.' Leading Portuguese energy supplier, GalpEnergia took home the only award in the 'Growth' category. Global insurance giant AXA and leading oil refiner/petrol retailer PKN Orlen from Poland won the 'Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions' prizes.
A special "Green Business" was awarded to German chemical company, BASF, for its commitment to mainstreaming sustainable energy strategies into its overall business.
Vincent Mercier, Member of Roland Berger's Executive Committee introduced the awards ceremony noting how much the world had changed since the inception of the competition in 2004.
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While the Lisbon Agenda had looked like a failure only a few years ago, Europe was on track toward achieving its growth potential.
Foreign direct investment hat grown eleven-fold over the past 20 years. Cross-border mergers and acquisitions had also become a major growth opportunity for many companies across the globe, growing 12-fold.
In the next 20 years the global population would increase by 30%, global GNP would double would double, while exports would quadruple. By 2009, China was set to be the world's biggest exporter, an in just a few years the trade balance of the world would shift significantly. While these major changes were occurring, the world itself and its natural resources were limited.
For European companies to be successful in this changing landscape they needed to make structural changes, adapt their value chain and excel at the integration of acquired companies. The 'Best of European Business' champions had understood how to do just that and how best to grow organically.
Mercier presented the awards to the winning companies together with CNN business news anchor Adrian Finighan to an audience of nearly 1,000 business and political leaders from across the European Union.
And the winners are..
Growth
Foreign direct investment hat grown eleven-fold over the past 20 years. Cross-border mergers and acquisitions had also become a major growth opportunity for many companies across the globe, growing 12-fold.
In the next 20 years the global population would increase by 30%, global GNP would double would double, while exports would quadruple. By 2009, China was set to be the world's biggest exporter, an in just a few years the trade balance of the world would shift significantly. While these major changes were occurring, the world itself and its natural resources were limited.
For European companies to be successful in this changing landscape they needed to make structural changes, adapt their value chain and excel at the integration of acquired companies. The 'Best of European Business' champions had understood how to do just that and how best to grow organically.
Mercier presented the awards to the winning companies together with CNN business news anchor Adrian Finighan to an audience of nearly 1,000 business and political leaders from across the European Union.
And the winners are..
Growth
- Portugal's leading integrated oil and natural gas company, Galp Energia, was selected by the jury based on its impressive double-digit growth of 15.3% between 2002 and 2006. It had shown strong innovative capabilities with its exploration of new production areas in Angola and Brazil, the jury said in its verdict. In addition, it highlighted the successful integration of AGIP into the company in Spain.
- AXA, one of Europe's major insurance providers, was lauded by the jury for its acquisition of Swiss competitor Winterthur in 2006. The purchase had given AXA access to the lucrative Swiss market and created product complementarities that extended AXA's global reach, allowing it to specialize further and increase its presence on the world insurance market by 20%. The jury was impressed by the EUR 8 billion size of the acquisition and its strategic contribution to reinforcing AXA's position in Switzerland, and in Western and Eastern European core markets. The purchase created synergy potential to the amount of EUR 350 million.
- PKN Orlen, a major European oil refiner, and petrol retailer was chosen as a further winner in this category. Its commitment to growth through key acquisitions is highlighted by the fact that it had won in this BEB category twice before, in 2006 and 2007. As of June 2006 the company is Poland's and Central Europe's largest publicly traded firm with major operations in its country of origin, the Czech Republic, Germany, and the Baltic States. It operates a wide network of retail outlets across these markets. In May of 2006 PKN Orlen announced its largest take-over to date, purchasing the majority share of Lithuania's Mažeikių Nafta, the largest company in the Baltic States, from Yukos. The transaction value of USD 2.78 billion was the biggest Polish foreign investment.
The jury praised PKN Orlen's acquisition strategy and integration capacity in its verdict. The latest buy-up and the acquisition of Unipetrol in 2005, had demonstrated PKN Orlen's commitment to its company strategy, aimed toward expanding regionally and bolstering the company's market position.
- BASF was selected for its outstanding commitment to environmentally sustainable production. Around 30% of its R&D budget is invested into developing mechanisms that allow for a more energy and natural resource efficient production, and toward developing technology for materials and energy resources of the future. It was the first company in Germany to join the "Community Development Carbon Fund" (CDCF) sponsored by the World Bank, which supports projects in the reduction of emissions in developing countries.
The company won the "Best of European Business" award in the Mergers and Acquisition category in Germany for its latest purchase of US catalyst producer Engelhard. The jury felt that this move further enhanced BASF's commitment to actively reducing CO2 emissions the world over.
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