A realistic but fictional sketch about family-owned companies

After a quadruple heart bypass, Mr. Smith feels tired. What should he do with the family company where he is the third generation? His brother is anxious to sell it; his sister has gone to Sweden; and his three children do not want to take on the company. The family affectio societatis is falling apart. There are also factors such as wealth tax and crippling death duties to consider. Mr. Fox‚ his sollicitor‚ comes to see him to help him understand the situation. Their discussion highlights the problems of family-owned businesses in France which combine elements of family history, attachment to a region and a production facility, and the use of ingenious financial montages to attempt to reduce French taxation on equity. Sylvain Gariel and Gauthier Lherbier comment on this fictional but realistic situation before presenting the key findings of their research about the position of family-owned companies in France, and make the case for a collaboration between family heirs and external managers.