Martin Essayan is the only family representative on the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation management board and confirmed that the decision to sell off his grandfather's oil company was "unanimous."The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is looking at an offer to purchase the Partex oil company, a decision that other Gulbenkian family members are said to oppose.
The final decision will be taken by the board of directors of the Foundation with Martin Essayan at ease with the decision.
Martin Sarkis Essayan succeeded his father, Mikhael Essayan (who died in 2012), on the Foundation’s board of directors in 2005 and said he discussed the Foundation's future with his father, who grew up with Calouste Gulbenkian.
"We both believe that Calouste Gulbenkian would have wanted us to do the best for the Foundation in a rational way, balancing the risks and the rewards," Martin Essayan begins, in a note sent to the Negócios on February 6.
"Calouste Gulbenkian is often quoted as saying he was not an "oil man" but a "business architect," adds Essayan who claims that the founder’s Will "left the administrators full power to do what they think best with their assets. And although the testament refers to the perpetuity of the Foundation, there is no mention of Partex."
The grandson of the patriarch of the Gulbenkian family says that since joining the board of directors he has been supportive of a "permanent evaluation of the investments in Partex, in order to avoid an excessive concentration of our investments in a single industry and in one company, dependent on the volatility and the issue of fossil fuels which also has been worrying me for reasons of sustainability."
The decision to look at offers for Partex was taken "unanimously" by the board of directors, after this matter has been discussed "in depth" over the years.
The decision to look at offers for Partex was taken "unanimously" by the board of directors, after this matter has been discussed "in depth" over the years.
According to Expresso, CEFC China Energy currently is negotiating the purchase of Partex. In 2016, the various Partex holdings in oil and gas companies were valued at €495 million.
CEFC's chief executive also is i'under investigation' by the Chinese authorities - see:
