Onassis did not only buy ships. In 1953 he bought control of a famous company, the Société des Bains de Mer, which owns the Monte Carlo casino, the Hôtel de Paris, and other hotels and real estate in Monaco. It is a useful case in how to take control, and in why control can be fragile.
How he took control
According to published histories, Onassis bought up SBM shares through front companies in Panama and took control in 1953. He eventually held about 52 percent and moved his headquarters to Monaco. Monaco’s ruler, Prince Rainier III, at first welcomed the investment because the principality needed it.
How it ended
The relationship deteriorated. By 1962 the two men were at odds, after the French president Charles de Gaulle imposed a boycott on Monaco, and they disagreed about the direction of the company. In June 1966 Rainier approved a plan to create 600,000 new SBM shares, to be held permanently by the state. That reduced Onassis’s stake from 52 percent to under a third. He sold out in 1967.
Another deal: Olympic Airways
From 1957 to 1974 Onassis also owned and operated Olympic Airways, the Greek national airline, under a concession from the Greek government. It was another business that depended on a government’s goodwill.
A fair caveat
Buying shares quietly through front companies is a way to build a stake without alerting the market, but it can also damage trust once the buyer is revealed. The outcome shows what can happen when the counterparty is a state: it can change the rules of the company itself. We do not have a complete public record of the price paid or of what Onassis received on exit, so those figures are left out.
Five lessons to take away
- A majority stake is not the same as secure control. Check who can issue shares or change the statutes.
- Know your counterparty. When one party is a government, its powers are part of the deal.
- Align the vision early. The conflict started over what Monaco should become.
- Quiet accumulation has a price. The surprise may cost goodwill later.
- Plan the exit at the start. The exit came on the other side’s terms.
For a family office
When a family buys a stake in a company, the shareholder agreement, dilution rights, and the counterparty’s powers matter as much as the percentage. These are questions to bring to your lawyers, not advice.