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Sofina: The 125-Year Journey from Belgian Tram Empire to ByteDance Investor
I. Introduction & Episode Roadmap
In January 2023, the Brussels stock exchange lit up with an unexpected surprise. Sofina, the listed holding of the noble Boël business family, revealed it had been a shareholder of the Chinese parent company behind the hugely popular app TikTok since 2016. The stock market reacted with pleasant surprise. Here was a 125-year-old Belgian investment company—one that traces its origins to tram lines in Buenos Aires—quietly holding one of the most valuable private company stakes on earth.
The disclosure crystallized something remarkable about Sofina: a family-controlled firm with the institutional patience to hold investments for decades had simultaneously positioned itself at the frontier of global technology investing. Sofina is a family-run, global investment company listed on Euronext Brussels with a net asset value of €9.8 billion as of June 30, 2025. Founded more than 125 years ago, Sofina is anchored by the Reference Shareholder, with a more than 50% controlling stake, which gathers families with a multi-generational mindset and an entrepreneurial background. Sofina provides patient capital, supportive advice and access to a global network of general partners, business partners, entrepreneurs and advisors to help companies grow.
The central question animating this story: How did a 19th-century tram engineering conglomerate become one of Europe's most sophisticated growth investors, backing ByteDance before TikTok became a phenomenon, investing alongside Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz, and building exposure to AI frontrunners like Mistral?
The transformation didn't happen overnight. It unfolded across three strategic pivots: the transition from industrial operator to investment holding company in the 1960s, the geographic diversification away from Europe beginning in 2008, and the deep embrace of venture and growth capital that has reshaped the portfolio since. The portfolio by value is now distributed geographically across Western Europe (36.6%), North America (37.1%), Asia (26.2%) and other (0.1%). When the Boël family decided to internationalize after the 2008 financial crisis, roughly 70% of the portfolio was European. That proportion has nearly inverted.
Sofina, which employs around 80 people, invests in approximately 80 companies directly and more than 550 funds and manages assets whose value approaches 10 billion euros. This compact team—smaller than most mid-sized private equity firms—oversees capital deployment across three continents, five focus sectors, and thousands of underlying portfolio companies through its fund investments.
The themes that emerge are evergreen: patient capital, family stewardship, strategic pivots executed over decades, and the art of institutional transformation. For investors studying holding companies, family enterprises, or the mechanics of multi-generational wealth creation, Sofina offers a masterclass.
II. Origins: The Engineering Conglomerate Era (1898-1955)
The Founding Moment
Sofina is a Belgian investment holding company founded in 1898 as Société Financière de Transports et d'Entreprises Industrielles, initially focused on engineering in energy and transportation sectors. The name itself—an acronym from the French—reveals the company's industrial DNA: this was a financing vehicle for transportation and industrial enterprises, not an investment fund.
Late 19th-century Belgium occupied a peculiar position in the global economy. A small country with limited natural resources had become disproportionately influential in heavy industry, engineering, and finance. Belgian capital flowed to Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe, financing railways, tramways, and electrical utilities. Sofina emerged from this ecosystem.
Sofina was founded in 1898 as the Société Financière de Transports et d'Entreprises Industrielles, an engineering conglomerate primarily engaged in energy and transportation projects. Initially headquartered in Brussels, the company focused on developing infrastructure such as tramway networks and electrical systems, leveraging the rapid industrialization of the late 19th century to secure contracts across international markets. Its early operations emphasized engineering expertise in building and operating public utilities, positioning it as a key player in the emerging sectors of urban transport and power generation.
The Heineman Era: Fifty Years of Leadership
The defining figure of Sofina's first half-century was Dannie Heineman, a Belgian-American engineer of German origin who assumed leadership in 1905 and would retain it for an astonishing fifty years. In 1905, he became the managing director of Sofina, which at the time was a small investment trust. He remained the head of Sofina for 50 years, during which Sofina grew into a large international public utility engineering management and holding company. He retired from the position in 1955.
Heineman's biography reads like a novel. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1872, he trained as an electrical engineer in Germany at the Technische Hochschule in Hanover. Dannie obtained a degree in electrical engineering. After graduating, he was hired by UEG (Union Elektrizitäts Gesellschaft), a precursor to AEG in Berlin. This company, founded as Deutsche Edison, was directed by Emil Rathenau. It was associated with General Electric, which granted licenses for its products to companies on the condition that they employ three American engineers. UEG already had two American engineers, and with Heineman's hiring, they secured the necessary licenses.
When Heineman arrived at Sofina in 1905, Dannie Heineman joined Sofina with the proviso that if he were not given important new projects to develop during the first six months, he would leave. He remained as Sofina's head for the next 50 years, retiring in 1955 at the age of 83. The conditional nature of his initial commitment reveals a man who demanded meaningful work—and found it in building a global infrastructure empire.
Buenos Aires: The Crown Jewel
The most dramatic example of Sofina's early ambitions was its involvement with the Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company. The Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company was a large transportation company which operated the majority of the trams in the Buenos Aires network, which was also one of the largest in the world at the time having lines totalling 875 km in length. The company also created Buenos Aires' first underground tram line, which would go on to become Line A of the Buenos Aires Underground. The company also owned other tramways around the country. The company was founded in 1876 by British and Anglo-Argentine investors.
In 1898, the Belgian company Sofina began acquiring shares in the AATC at a time when the company was electrifying its Buenos Aires network, where the company owned 120 km of lines by this point, as well as the electrification of the Rosario network, which was completed in 1908. By 1907, Sofina created a new company Compagnie Générale de Tramways de Buenos Aires to absorb the Anglo-Argentine and purchase other companies in the city and already by 1909 it had become the largest transport company in Argentina. The newly formed company's shareholders were made up of a number of different nationalities and included prominent European investment banks such as Paribas and Deutsche Bank. Construction of Line A of the Buenos Aires Underground began on 15 September 1911.
This was infrastructure investing at its most ambitious. Buenos Aires in the early 20th century was one of the world's fastest-growing cities, and its tramway network—875 kilometers of track, 3,000 vehicles, carrying 650 million passengers annually—represented a massive capital deployment. Sofina wasn't merely financing these systems; it was building and operating them.
Until his retirement from Sofina in 1955, Dannie directed his 40,000 employees in infrastructure development projects around the world, as well as in economic, scientific, and technical research. The scale is staggering—40,000 employees operating public utilities across multiple continents, directed from Brussels by an American engineer who had originally trained in Germany.
Heineman's legacy extended beyond business. At the beginning of the First World War, Belgium was occupied by German troops. Heineman participated in negotiations with German, British, French and later American authorities in favor of creating the Comité national de secours et d'alimentation and the Commission for Relief in Belgium, which organized food transport and distribution in Belgium. Heineman received, in the 1950s and in recognition of these actions, the Grande Croix of the Order of Leopold II of Belgium, and was promoted to Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold.
In 1939, while living in Belgium, Dannie Heineman managed to get the Luxembourg government to open its closed borders and admit approximately 100 Jewish families from Germany. The persuasive argument was that hotels in Luxembourg were empty and he would pay for the rooms and give the Jews an allowance, and they would not be working and taking jobs away from Luxembourg workers. This arrangement worked until 10 May 1940 when Hitler invaded. At that point his assistant Mr. Schmidt made a final six months payment to the families.
The Heineman era established something crucial: Sofina's institutional DNA of engineering competence, international reach, and long-term thinking. But the tramway age was ending. By the mid-20th century, the business model that had created the company would need to evolve.
III. The Boël Family Era & Strategic Transition (1955-2008)
Enter the Boëls
From 1955 on, the current family shareholders started to invest. Yves Boël was appointed Director in 1956. The transition from the Heineman era to Boël family control marks Sofina's transformation from engineering conglomerate to investment holding.
The Boël family's own history represents Belgian industrial royalty. The story of the Boël family began in 1880 when Gustave Boël inherited the assets of his childless employer, Ernest Boucquéau. Among these assets was the Fafer steelworks (Fabrique de Fer de Charleroi), which became the cornerstone of the fortune Gustave accumulated over the decades. In 1997, the sale of Fafer to the French Usinor group brought the family 5 billion Belgian francs, or around 125 million euros.
The Boël family remains an influential force in Belgium, not only for its industrial heritage but also for its strategic alliances and sound financial management. The Boël family is one of Belgium's wealthiest, ranking in the TOP 5 with over 3 billion in assets.
The Solvay Connection
The Boël family's ascent was cemented through strategic marriages with Belgium's other great industrial dynasties. Yves Boël (12 September 1927, Brussels – 19 June 2012) was a Belgian businessman. He was a son of count René Boël and Yvonne Solvay, granddaughter of Ernest Solvay. Yves Boël was president of the board of Sofina.
René Boël was married to Yvonne Solvay (1896–1930), granddaughter of Ernest Solvay. They have two sons Yves Boël and Pol Boël and one daughter. After his marriage, he became director at UCB and at Solvay.
The Solvay name carries enormous weight. Ernest Gaston Joseph Solvay was a Belgian chemist, industrialist and philanthropist. Born in Rebecq, he was prevented by his acute pleurisy from going to university. He worked in his uncle's chemical factory from the age of 21. In 1861, he, along with his brother Alfred Solvay, developed the ammonia-soda process (also known as the Solvay process) for the manufacturing of soda ash. The process was an improvement over the earlier Leblanc process.
The exploitation of his patents brought Solvay considerable wealth, which he used for philanthropic purposes, including the establishment in 1894 of the Institut des Sciences Sociales at the Free University of Brussels, as well as International Institutes for Physics and Chemistry. In 1903, he founded the Solvay Business School. In 1911, he began a series of important conferences in physics, known as the Solvay Conferences, whose participants included Max Planck, Ernest Rutherford, Maria Skłodowska-Curie, Henri Poincaré, and Albert Einstein. A later conference would include Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, and Erwin Schrödinger.
This web of family connections—Boël, Solvay, and related dynasties—created interlocking interests across Belgian industry. The discreet management of these relationships has been a hallmark of the family's approach. The Boël family's success rests on three pillars: careful management of their businesses, private resolution of family conflicts and strategic marriages with other wealthy families, all enhanced by extreme discretion.
The Critical Pivot: From Industrial Operator to Investment Company
The most consequential strategic decision in Sofina's history occurred between 1965 and 1970, when the company pivoted from its historical focus on industrial and engineering operations to functioning primarily as an investment company. This meant divesting core engineering assets to reallocate capital toward financial holdings.
Yves Boël was appointed Director in 1956. In 1964, the Boël family took control together with Société Générale de Belgique.
The partnership with Société Générale de Belgique—itself a sprawling holding company with interests across Belgian industry—provided both capital and legitimacy. But it also created governance complexities that would only be resolved decades later.
The 1987 Danone Investment: Patient Capital in Action
Sofina's first investment in Danone dates back to April 1987. Since then, Sofina has carried out various transactions: sales and acquisitions of shares, share subscriptions and dividend conversions.
On April 1, 1987, private equity firm Sofina SA invested in food company Danone. Sofina made an investment in Groupe Danone almost 30 years ago, back in 1987. Some impressive former investments are also listed: Delhaize, Richemont and Shimano.
The Danone stake exemplified what would become Sofina's signature approach: taking minority positions in quality companies and holding them for decades. While private equity firms measure holding periods in years, Sofina measured them in generations.
Consolidating Family Control
In 1988, Yves Boël is appointed Chair and Count Goblet d'Alviella co-Managing Director. Reinforcement of the family shareholders following the acquisition of Société Générale de Belgique's stake. 1987: Investment in Danone.
The acquisition of Société Générale de Belgique's stake in 1988 represented a crucial step in consolidating the Boël family's control. By the late 1980s, the family's position had been strengthened to achieve majority ownership and long-term control over the holding.
For investors, this period demonstrates a critical principle: sometimes the most important strategic decisions are about governance structure, not portfolio composition. Securing family control enabled the patient, long-term approach that would differentiate Sofina from conventional fund managers.
IV. Inflection Point #1: The Harold Boël Transformation (2008-Present)
Leadership Transition During Crisis
Harold Boël has been piloting Sofina, one of the country's main investment companies and member of the Bel 20 index, for almost two decades now. It was in 2008, in the midst of the financial crisis, that he took the reins of the company, first for six years in tandem with Richard Goblet, a member of the previous generation. Coming from a family of Belgian industrialists, mainly active in steel and finance, he has since been transforming Sofina, an "old lady" since it is already more than 125 years old, into an investment company in phase with a changing world.
Harold Boël's background shaped his approach to transformation. Harold Boël began their career as the Managing Director of Usines Gustave Boël in 1994. From 1986 to 1989, he attended EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne) and earned a degree in Science des Matériaux, specifically an Ingénieur EPF. Prior to that, from 1982 to 1986, he studied at Brown University and obtained a Sc.B. degree in Chemistry. In 2018 and 2019, he attended the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, where he enrolled in the Executive Program in Management and Philosophy.
The engineering background—materials science, chemistry—combined with later management training provided a foundation for understanding both industrial companies and financial markets. Harold Boël serves as Chief Executive Officer, a position he has held since 2008, representing the interests of the Boël family while focusing on key investment decisions and portfolio growth.
The Strategic Reinvention
The transformation Harold Boël initiated was comprehensive: On the menu: development of a private equity arm, geographic diversification—two-thirds of assets are now non-European—and exploration of new sectors where technology plays a key role.
The rationale for geographic diversification was explicit: reducing macroeconomic concentration risk while capturing growth in emerging markets. Asia, with its rising middle class requiring goods and services, offered structural growth opportunities that mature European markets could not match. As a growth investor, Sofina needed to deploy capital where growth was occurring.
Building International Presence
Strategic move towards growth and more international exposure. Creation of the SofinaBoël Fund for Education and Talent, Sofina's philanthropic project. First investments in venture and growth capital funds in India and China. Reinforcement of the Boël family shareholding following the acquisition of Société Générale de Belgique's stake. First investments in venture and growth capital funds in the United States.
Sofina has offices in Brussels, Luxembourg, Singapore and London. The Singapore office, established to oversee Asian investments, represented a physical commitment to the region—not merely portfolio allocation but institutional presence.
The Singapore Decade
After celebrating the 10 year anniversary of our presence in Singapore, we continue to actively look for opportunities to invest. The Singapore base provided direct access to deal flow across Asia. Rather than relying solely on fund managers or intermediaries, Sofina built local teams capable of evaluating direct investments.
Asia is mainly a tale of two countries. The outlook for economic growth in China continues to be challenging. India has wind in the sails and saw a pick-up in investment activity, notably on public markets. Our long-term perspective on both, and on the rest of Asia, remains positive.
The geographic diversification results speak clearly: from 70% European exposure before 2008 to Western Europe (36.6%), North America (37.1%), Asia (26.2%) by late 2024. The transformation of capital allocation over fifteen years represents one of the more dramatic geographic pivots in European investment company history.
V. Inflection Point #2: The ByteDance Masterstroke (2016)
The Secret Investment
In 2016, Sofina took a minority stake in ByteDance through a special purpose vehicle (SC China Co-Investment 2016-A, L.P.) alongside other investors.
Sofina revealed in January 2023 that it had invested in ByteDance as early as 2016 through a special purpose vehicle, "SC China Co-Investment 2016-A," which the holding had kept secret until then. The exact stake of Sofina in ByteDance is unknown, whose valuation at end of 2022 was around $300 billion.
The secrecy is notable. For seven years, Sofina held a position in what would become one of the world's most valuable private companies without disclosing it prominently. The investment predated TikTok's global explosion—it was made when ByteDance was primarily a Chinese news aggregator with nascent video products.
ByteDance: The Platform Giant
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Beijing, ByteDance is a global internet and technology company active in more than 150 countries. The company offers a portfolio of leading consumer apps including Douyin (short video platform in China), Toutiao (news aggregator and content discovery platform in China), Xigua Video, Lark (global digital collaboration product), and TikTok (short video platform outside of China). Initially focused on the Chinese market, its international expansion was accelerated from 2018 after merging its nascent product TikTok with Musical.ly (acquired in 2017).
Driven by the success of Douyin and TikTok, ByteDance has grown at a rapid pace in recent years. According to public sources, 2022 and H1 2023 revenue reached USD 85 billion and USD 54 billion respectively. At the same time, the company's revenue base has diversified away from its traditional stronghold in digital advertising to e-commerce, live streaming and other new initiatives.
November 2025 Valuation Surge
In November 2025, ByteDance was valued at $480 billion, up more than 45% from its valuation in August. This makes it the second most valuable private company in the world, behind only OpenAI.
A Chinese investment firm bought a block of ByteDance Ltd. shares at a valuation of $480 billion, far above recent levels, a sign of strong investor interest in the parent company of video sensation TikTok.
For Sofina, the investment—made when ByteDance was valued at a fraction of current levels—has grown into its largest holding. The exact stake and cost basis remain undisclosed, but even a modest percentage of a $480 billion company represents transformational value creation.
What This Reveals About Sofina's Network
The ByteDance investment illuminates Sofina's network advantages. Co-investing alongside sophisticated China-focused investors through special purpose vehicles requires relationships built over years. The deal came through Sofina's private funds ecosystem—the same relationships that provide access to Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed, and other top-tier managers.
The 10 largest direct stakes represented 29% of the portfolio. On the funds side, Sequoia Capital, Hongshan, Lightspeed, Insight Partners and Andreessen Horowitz were among the top managers.
Access to elite fund managers creates co-investment opportunities that would otherwise be inaccessible. ByteDance is the signature example, but the model applies across the portfolio.
VI. The Investment Philosophy: "Purpose & Patience"
Three Investment Styles
At the end of 2024, its portfolio, valued at a fair value of EUR 10,054.3 million, breaks down by activity as follows: acquisition of minority stakes in private and listed companies (53%; Sofina Direct). The portfolio breaks down by market between digital transformation (30%), consumer goods and services (27%), health and life sciences (13%), education (11%), sustainable supply chain (7%) and other (12%); investment in venture and growth capital funds (47%; Sofina Private Funds).
Sofina Direct comprises minority positions in established companies held for the long term. Sofina Growth focuses on rapidly growing companies requiring capital for expansion. Sofina Private Funds invests as a limited partner in venture and growth capital funds managed by leading GPs.
Sofina only takes minority ownership positions in its long-term holdings with capital from its own balance sheet. Its portfolio holdings constitute the majority of its net asset value and come mostly from Europe. A smaller percentage of its net asset value base comes from investments in venture capital and private equity funds, mostly in the United States and in Asia.
Holding Period Philosophy
It typically holds its investments for ten to twelve years. This is dramatically longer than conventional private equity, which targets five-year holding periods. The extended time horizon enables compounding that shorter-duration strategies cannot capture.
In most cases, investments take the form of fixed-term partnerships of 10 to 12 years, managed by specialised teams. These Managers raise funds from professional investors, such as Sofina, who commit to providing capital in an amount defined at the time of subscription. Managers generally have a period of five or six years to find investments that align with their preferred strategy and progressively call upon the committed capital made available to them. At the exit of an investment, the proceeds are distributed to the investors, and the Managers receive an incentive.
Sector Focus
Deploying its capital across North America, Europe, and Asia in five future-oriented sectors of focus: Consumer and retail; Digital transformation; Education; Healthcare and life sciences; and Sustainable supply chains.
Sofina supports development of companies in five sectors from Brussels, Luxembourg, London and Singapore: consumer goods and services (Vinted, Nuxe, dott…), digital transformation (ByteDance, Mistral, team.blue, Collibra…), education (Cognita, Proeduca…), healthcare and life sciences (Biomérieux, Oviva…), and sustainable supply chains (BioFirst…).
The sector focus reflects conviction about long-term structural growth. Education, healthcare, and digital transformation benefit from demographic trends and technological change that operate over decades—precisely the time horizon Sofina's patient capital enables.
VII. Notable Investments & Exits
Portfolio Highlights
Vinted (Consumer/Sustainability): On a mission to make second-hand the first choice worldwide, Vinted enables millions of people to give their unwanted clothing and lifestyle items a second life and, in doing so, has experienced strong growth. Sofina invested in Vinted in 2019.
Vinted has raised a total funding of $872M over 7 rounds from 16 investors. Investors include TPG, EQT and 14 others. Their latest funding round was of $367M on Oct 24, 2024.
Mistral AI (Artificial Intelligence): Lightspeed Venture Partners is leading this round, with Redpoint, Index Ventures, Xavier Niel, JCDecaux Holding, Rodolphe Saadé and Motier Ventures in France, La Famiglia and Headline in Germany, Exor Ventures in Italy, Sofina in Belgium, and First Minute Capital and LocalGlobe in the UK all also participating.
In September 2025, Bloomberg announced that Mistral AI has secured a €2 billion investment valuing it at €12 billion ($14 billion). This comes after $1.5 billion investment from Dutch company ASML, which owns 11% of Mistral. Sofina's early investment in Europe's leading AI lab exemplifies its position at the frontier of technology investing.
Scalable Capital (Digital Transformation): Munich, June 3, 2025: Scalable Capital has successfully completed a funding round, raising €155 million ($175 million). This is the company's largest funding round to date and is led by Sofina and Noteus Partners.
Recent Activity
Next to the full exits at Petit Forestier Group and Colruyt, we partially monetised investments such as at Vinted and Honasa (Mamaearth).
Our main new investments, from different sectors and regions, include cybersecurity company Cyera, tech enabled lender Finova and natural footwear producer Vivobarefoot. We also continued to generate liquidity, with partial divestments of K12 Technoservices, Vinted and Honasa/Mamaearth, and full exits of Aohua and TCNS.
The Byju's Lesson
Sofina, located in Brussels (Belgium), made their first investment in BYJU'S on Feb 25, 2016 in its Series C round.
The Byju's investment stands as a cautionary tale within Sofina's portfolio. An Indian court has initiated insolvency proceedings against edtech giant Byju's, once-valued at $22 billion. An Indian tribunal court initiated insolvency proceedings for Byju's, once India's most valuable startup, in response to a petition from the country's cricket board. The ruling effectively installs an interim resolution professional who will manage the company's operations, pushing the startup's founder out.
A group of four investors in BYJU'S moved the Bengaluru Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal filing a petition for oppression and mismanagement of the company. The petition has been signed by four investors, Prosus, GA, Sofina and Peak XV.
Byju's, once India's most valuable startup, counts BlackRock, UBS, Lightspeed, QIA, Bond, Silver Lake, Sofina, Verlinvest, Tencent, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Owl Ventures, and World Bank's IFC among its backers. It has raised more than $5 billion to date.
The Byju's experience demonstrates that even the most sophisticated investors can face total losses in growth investing. However, Sofina's diversification across hundreds of direct investments and fund positions means no single failure threatens the overall portfolio.
VIII. Governance & Ownership Structure
Family Control
This consortium includes Union Financière Boël SA with 22.414%, Société de Participations Industrielles SA with 24.778%, and Mobilière et Immobilière du Centre SA with 7.404%, totaling 54.596% post-capital increase, with the slight variance reflecting coordinated family interests.
The remaining shares are divided between treasury holdings and a public float. Sofina holds about 3.132% in treasury shares, while the public float—approximately 42%—is owned by a diverse group of individual, institutional, and private investors. Sofina's shares have been listed on Euronext Brussels since the mid-20th century and form part of the BEL 20 index.
Board Composition
Harold Boël (2028) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER · Nicolas Boël (2027) MEMBER OF THE BOARD · Laura Cioli (2028) MEMBER OF THE BOARD · Laurent de Meeûs d'Argenteuil (2027) MEMBER OF THE BOARD · Felix Goblet d'Alviella (2026) MEMBER OF THE BOARD · Dominique Lancksweert (2026) CHAIR · Anja Langenbucher (2029) MEMBER OF THE BOARD · Michèle Sioen (2026) MEMBER OF THE BOARD · Catherine Soubie (2029) MEMBER OF THE BOARD · Charlotte Strömberg (2028) VICE-CHAIR · Leslie Teo (2026) MEMBER OF THE BOARD · Rajeev Vasudeva (2026) MEMBER OF THE BOARD · Gwill York (2027) MEMBER OF THE BOARD.
The board balances family representation with independent directors and sector experts. Family-linked members include CEO Harold Boël, Nicolas Boël (Chairman of Solvay), Laurent de Meeûs d'Argenteuil, and Felix Goblet d'Alviella.
ESG Integration
The SofinaBoël Fund for Education and Talent was set up in 2011 by the descendants of Gustave Boël and the holding company Sofina. The SofinaBoël Fund, managed in collaboration with the King Baudouin Foundation, aims to support education and training of talent in Belgium through individual grants and the provision of support to other organisations sharing similar objectives.
IX. Financial Performance & Recent Challenges
Historical Performance
The average annual growth rate of the firm's investment portfolio over the last decade has been approximately 14%.
Our Net Asset Value (NAV), the core measurement of our performance, amounted to EUR 10.3 billion, or EUR 312 per share, on 31 December 2024. That is a year-on-year improvement of 13% (NAV EUR 9.1 billion). This result is driven by value creation across our investments, diversified across geographies, sectors and innovation trends.
The 2022-2023 Valuation Correction
Earnings have declined by 24.9% per year over past 5 years.
The period from late 2021 through 2023 proved challenging. As technology valuation multiples compressed globally, Sofina's portfolio—heavily weighted toward growth companies—experienced significant mark-to-market declines. The stock price fell sharply from its 2021 peak, reflecting both portfolio markdowns and the broad de-rating of growth-oriented investment vehicles.
Current Position & Capital Raising
NAV decreased from €10.3 billion at 31 December 2024 to €9.8 billion at 30 June 2025. Net result for H1 2025 was -€394 million, compared to €551 million in H1 2024. Net result per share was -€11.90 for H1 2025, down from €16.59 in H1 2024. NAV decreased from €10.3 billion at 31 December 2024 to €9.8 billion at 30 June 2025. Net result for H1 2025 was -€394 million, compared to €551 million in H1 2024. Net result per share was -€11.90 for H1 2025, down from €16.59 in H1 2024.
Sofina shares were down over 2% after the Brussels-based investment company reported a €494 million drop in net asset value in the first half of 2025, alongside a swing to a loss. Sofina said depreciation of major currencies, particularly the U.S. dollar, weighed on results. Excluding currency effects, value creation across the portfolio was positive at 4.2%, but including them it turned negative at 3.4%. "Positive value creation was affected by currency impact."
2025 Capital Raise
Brussels, 24 September, 7.30am CET – Sofina SA, a leading global investment company listed on Euronext Brussels, announces today the launch of a public offering to existing shareholders of maximum 2,446,428 new shares for a maximum of EUR 545,553,444. Existing shareholders will be granted one Preferential Right per existing share. The holders of Preferential Rights will be entitled to subscribe to the New Shares in the ratio of 1 New Share for 14 Preferential Rights. The subscription price is EUR 223.00 per New Share, representing a discount to TERP of 12.1% based on a share price of EUR 255.80.
The bond offering consisted of €600 million senior unsecured bonds maturing in 2033 and was successfully completed on November 5, 2025. The bonds will be listed on Euronext Growth Brussels. Cleary Gottlieb represents Sofina in its €1.145 billion financing.
Sofina's robust balance sheet, prudent risk management practices and steady liquidity generation have been recognized by S&P Global Ratings Europe Limited, which is expected to assign Sofina a strong "A-" Investment Grade rating with stable outlook. Subject to market conditions, this will enable Sofina to consider raising a further quantum of debt in Q4 2025 or in 2026, maintaining a conservative approach.
The capital raise strengthens Sofina's capacity to pursue larger investments and maintain commitments to fund managers during periods of capital calls.
X. Playbook: Business & Strategic Lessons
The Art of Multi-Generational Transformation
Sofina's history offers a masterclass in institutional evolution. The company has executed two fundamental strategic pivots—from engineering conglomerate to investment holding (1965-1970) and from European focus to global platform (2008-present)—while maintaining family control and cultural continuity.
The lesson: strategic transformation requires patience measured in decades, not quarters. Sofina's pivots were gradual, allowing the organization to build capabilities and relationships incrementally rather than through disruptive reorganization.
Family Business Best Practices
The Boël family's success rests on three pillars: careful management of their businesses, private resolution of family conflicts and strategic marriages with other wealthy families, all enhanced by extreme discretion.
The governance structure balances family control with professional management. Harold Boël leads as CEO but operates within a board that includes substantial independent representation. This hybrid model captures the benefits of long-term family alignment while maintaining accountability.
The Patient Capital Advantage
Public markets often undervalue patient, minority-stake investing because the strategy doesn't fit cleanly into conventional categories. Sofina is neither a traditional asset manager charging fees on AUM nor a private equity firm targeting leveraged buyouts with five-year exits. The permanent capital structure enables positions that compound over decades.
The ByteDance investment exemplifies this advantage: Sofina could hold through multiple valuation cycles without pressure to distribute gains to limited partners or mark positions for quarterly reporting.
Network Effects in Growth Investing
Access to deal flow in growth investing depends heavily on relationships. "Scalable Capital is transforming how individuals approach investing across Europe. Their innovative platform, comprehensive offering and clear vision for financial inclusion resonate strongly with Sofina's strategy of backing impactful high-growth companies. We are enthusiastic about supporting their journey to further redefine the retail investment landscape in Germany and beyond," says Maxence Tombeur, Managing Director at Sofina.
The fund-of-funds strategy builds relationships with top GPs that generate co-investment opportunities. These relationships compound over time—GPs who receive patient, reliable capital allocations reciprocate with access to their best deals.
XI. Porter's Five Forces & Hamilton's 7 Powers Analysis
Porter's Five Forces
| Force | Analysis | Intensity |
|---|---|---|
| Threat of New Entrants | While anyone can theoretically start an investment company, Sofina's competitive advantages are difficult to replicate. The 125-year track record, family network, and GP relationships took generations to build. New entrants cannot access the same deal flow or hold positions with comparable patience. | Low |
| Supplier Power | "Suppliers" in this context are portfolio companies and fund managers seeking capital. With abundant capital available globally, no single supplier holds significant leverage. However, top-tier GPs and entrepreneurs can choose their investors, meaning Sofina must earn access through reputation. | Medium |
| Buyer Power | Shareholders are the "buyers" of Sofina's investment performance. The Boël family's 54% control insulates management from short-term shareholder pressure. Public float shareholders have limited influence over strategy. | Low |
| Threat of Substitutes | Alternative investment vehicles abound: ETFs, private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds. However, Sofina's combination of permanent capital, minority-stake focus, and family governance is genuinely differentiated. Direct substitution is limited. | Low-Medium |
| Competitive Rivalry | Competition for deals is intense globally, with sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and institutional investors all pursuing similar opportunities. However, Sofina's specific positioning—patient European capital with sector expertise—creates a differentiated value proposition. | Medium-High |
Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers
Counter-Positioning: Sofina's permanent capital structure and decade-plus holding periods represent counter-positioning relative to conventional private equity. Traditional PE firms cannot easily abandon their fund structures and fee models to compete on patience.
Cornered Resource: The Boël family relationships and 125-year institutional history constitute a cornered resource. The network of Belgian industrial families, the connections to Solvay, and the reputation built across generations cannot be replicated by new market entrants.
Scale Economies: Modest. Investment companies benefit less from scale than industrial businesses. Sofina's ~80 person team is already efficient; doubling headcount would not proportionally improve returns.
Network Effects: Present in the GP-LP relationship ecosystem. As Sofina builds relationships with more top-tier fund managers, it gains access to better deal flow, which improves returns, which attracts more GP interest—a virtuous cycle.
Process Power: Sofina's investment process—sector-focused teams, multi-generational holding periods, minority-stake discipline—reflects accumulated institutional learning that competitors cannot quickly replicate.
Switching Costs: Limited. Portfolio companies could seek other investors; LPs could redeem from Sofina's public shares. However, the long-term relationship nature of Sofina's investments creates soft switching costs through trust and familiarity.
Branding: The Sofina name carries weight in European and Asian private markets, opening doors that would be closed to unknown investors. This brand power took 125 years to build.
XII. Key Performance Indicators for Investors
For long-term fundamental investors tracking Sofina, three KPIs matter most:
1. Net Asset Value (NAV) per Share Growth NAV is the primary measure of Sofina's value creation. Tracking year-over-year and rolling three-year NAV growth—adjusted for dividends—reveals underlying performance. Our Net Asset Value (NAV), the core measurement of our performance, amounted to EUR 10.3 billion, or EUR 312 per share, on 31 December 2024. That is a year-on-year improvement of 13%.
2. Discount/Premium to NAV Sofina shares trade at varying discounts or premiums to reported NAV. The discount reflects market sentiment about portfolio quality, management, and liquidity. Historically, Sofina has traded at both significant discounts and modest premiums; tracking this relationship identifies potential entry points.
3. Liquidity Generation Despite focusing on long-term holdings, Sofina generates liquidity through partial sales and distributions from fund investments. Tracking annual liquidity generation relative to new investment commitments reveals portfolio health and capital recycling efficiency.
XIII. Risks and Regulatory Considerations
Key Risks
Geopolitical Exposure: The ByteDance position creates significant China exposure. Although ByteDance continues to enjoy attractive prospects, it also faces the impact of global macroeconomic conditions which have slowed the recent growth of other internet players. Today, ByteDance operates globally with a growing international presence while China remains its largest market. It also continues to navigate the complex regulatory landscape in major markets including the United States and China.
Private Market Valuation Uncertainty: With 93% of the portfolio in unlisted assets, valuations depend on management judgment and GP marks. During market corrections, private valuations may lag public market declines, creating marking uncertainty.
Concentration Risk: ByteDance, while highly successful, represents the largest single holding. Any adverse development—regulatory action, competitive deterioration, or China-related sanctions—would materially impact NAV.
Currency Exposure: Significant dollar and yuan exposure creates translation effects. Sofina said depreciation of major currencies, particularly the U.S. dollar, weighed on results. Excluding currency effects, value creation across the portfolio was positive at 4.2%, but including them it turned negative at 3.4%.
Regulatory Considerations
Sofina operates under Belgian investment company regulations and reports under IFRS. The Investment Entity classification determines how portfolio investments are marked, with most positions carried at fair value through profit and loss. Changes to fair value accounting standards or investment company regulations could affect reported results.
XIV. Conclusion: The Next 125 Years
Sofina's journey from Buenos Aires tramways to ByteDance shares traces an arc of continuous transformation. Each generation inherited a business and reshaped it for the era ahead: Heineman building an engineering empire, the Boël family converting it to an investment holding, Harold Boël globalizing and technologizing the portfolio.
The themes that enabled this transformation—patient capital, family alignment, relationship-based deal access, and long-duration thinking—remain operative advantages in a market increasingly driven by quarterly performance metrics and short-term capital.
For investors, Sofina represents a rare combination: public market liquidity with private market exposure, European corporate governance with global portfolio reach, family-controlled stability with professional management execution. The discount-to-NAV valuation provides a margin of safety, while the portfolio composition offers exposure to growth assets typically inaccessible to public market investors.
The risks are real: China exposure, private market valuation uncertainty, and the inherent challenges of multi-generational family governance. But the track record demonstrates resilience across world wars, economic crises, and technological disruptions.
As Harold Boël navigates Sofina into its next chapter—raising capital, building AI exposure through investments like Mistral, and managing the complex dynamics of China investment—the question isn't whether Sofina will change. The question is whether the patient capital model that transformed a tram company into a technology investor can continue generating returns for shareholders in a world that increasingly rewards short-term thinking.
If the past 125 years offer any guidance, betting against Sofina's ability to adapt would be unwise.
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