Sonae

Sonae (Sonae SGPS, S.A.)

Type
Traded as	Euronext: SON
Industry	Retail (food and non-food products), Shopping Centers, Telecommunications, Retail properties and investment management
Founded	1959
Headquarters	Maia, Portugal
Key people	Paulo de Azevedo (Chairman and Co-CEO), Ângelo Paupério (Co-CEO)
Products	Grocery stores; hypermarkets; pharmacies; foodservice outlets; bookshops; apparel, consumer electronics and white goods retail; shopping centre and real estate management; financial investments; telecommunications
Revenue	€5.718 billion (2011)
Operating income	€661 million (2011)
Profit	€178 million (2011)
Total assets	€7.552 billion (end 2010)
Total equity	€1.862 billion (end 2010)
Number of employees	43,270 (end 2010)
Subsidiaries	Sonae MC, Sonae RP, Sonae Sierra (50%), Sonaecom (89.9%)
Website	www.sonae.pt

Sonae (Sonae SGPS, S.A.) ( listen ) is a Portuguese retail company (Sonae MC and Sonae SR) with two big partnerships in the shopping centres areas (Sonae Sierra) and the Software and Information Systems, Media and Telecommunications (Sonaecom). Sonae has around 40,000 employees and is present in more than 60 countries. It is listed in Euronext PSI-20, in Lisbon, under SON code.

Sonae was founded in 1959, in Maia, Portugal in the engineered wood business and more specifically the production of high-pressure decorative laminates, by the businessman, banker and patron from Arouca, Afonso Pinto de Magalhães.

During its first two decades of existence, Sonae stayed as a small to medium-size business, focused on the wood derivatives market.

Afonso Pinto de Magalhães, also the founder of Banco Pinto Magalhães, left Fábio Lemos in control of Sonae during the tumultuous years after the Carnation Revolution. At some stage during that period, the company was even nationalized, and then, privatized again.

In 1982, Afonso Pinto de Magalhães gave 16% of Sonae to Belmiro de Azevedo and, after his death, Belmiro de Azevedo achieved the majority of capital, gaining control over the company. During the 1980s, the company began a period of rapid growth, which coincided with Portugal's entry in the European Economic Community (before it has changed into the European Union). It was also during the 80s that Sonae began its fast growth and, in 1985, Sonae Investimentos SGPS, S.A was created and entered the . Furthermore, Sonae began its strategy to diversify its business, through the acquisition and creation of new enterprises: the opening of the first hypermarket in Portugal (Continente), the inauguration of Porto Sheraton Hotel, the purchase of Star (a travel company) and the opening of the two first shopping centres (in Portimão and Albufeira).