A corporate group (or a "group of companies") is a collection of parent and subsidiary corporations that function as a single economic entity through a common source of control. The concept of a group is frequently used in tax law, accounting and (less frequently) company law to attribute the rights and duties of one member of the group to another or the whole. If the corporations are engaged in entirely different businesses, the group is called a conglomerate.

In Germany, where a sophisticated law of the "concern" has been developed, the law of corporate groups is a fundamental aspect of its corporate law. Many other European jurisdictions also have a similar approach, while Commonwealth countries and the United States adhere to a formalistic doctrine that refuses to "pierce the corporate veil": corporations are treated outside tax and accounting as wholly separate legal entities.

Legal independence[link]

• Salomon v Salomon
• Berkey v Third Avenue Railway

Economic dependence[link]

• Concern (business)
• DHN v Tower Hamlets LBC

• EU Seventh Company Law Directive 83/349, on group accounts
• EU Draft Ninth Company Law Directive, on corporate groups

Law[link]

Tax[link]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it.

Accounting[link]

• EU Seventh Company Law Directive 83/349, on group accounts

Civil law[link]

• Salomon v Salomon
• Berkey v Third Avenue Railway
• Adams v Cape Industries plc

Codetermination[link]

• Mitbestimmungsgesetz

Definition[link]

The definition of business group varies. For instance, Leff^[1] defines business group as a group of companies that does business in different markets under common administrative or financial control whose members are linked by relations of interpersonal trust on the bases of similar personal ethnic or commercial background a business group. One method of defining a group is as a cluster of legally distinct firms with a managerial relationship.^[2][3] The relationship between the firms in a group may be formal or informal.^[4] A keiretsu is one type of business group. A concern is another.

Encarnation^[5] refers to Indian business houses, emphasizing multiple forms of ties among group members. Powell and Smith-Doerr^[6] state that a business group is a network of firms that regularly collaborate over a long time period. Granovetter^[4] argues that business groups refers to an intermediate level of binding, excluding on the one hand a set of firms bound merely by short-term alliances and on the other a set of firms legally consolidated into a single unit. Williamson^[7] claims that business groups lie between markets and hierarchies. Khanna and Rivkin^[8] suggest that business groups are typically not legal constructs though some regulatory bodies have attempted to codify a definition. In United Arab Emirates, a business group can also be known as a trade association.^[9] Typical examples are Adidas Group or Icelandair Group.

See also[link]

• Business alliance
• Concern (business)
• Keiretsu

Notes[link]

References[link]

This article is written like a personal reflection or essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (February 2010)

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John Molson
John Molson Sr
Born	(1763-12-28)December 28, 1763 Moulton, Spalding, Lincolnshire
Died	January 11, 1836(1836-01-11) (aged 72) Boucherville, Lower Canada
Nationality	British
Occupation	Brewer

John Molson (December 28, 1763 – January 11, 1836) was an English-speaking Quebecer who was a major brewer and entrepreneur in Canada, starting the Molson Brewing Company.

Birth and early life[link]

In 1763, John Molson was born in the village of Moulton near Spalding, Lincolnshire. His mother was Mary Elsdale (1739-1772), the eldest daughter of Samuel Elsdale (1704-1788), of Surfleet. She married John Molson (1730-1770) Sr. in 1760. Her brother, Robinson Elsdale (1744-1783), was a celebrated privateer, whose unpublished exploits formed the basis of the novel by Frederick Marryat, The Privateersman (1846). About two weeks before the marriage, John Molson Sr. inherited a property known as Snake Hall,^[1] in Lincolnshire, which consisted of a home and various outbuildings associated with 38 acres (15 ha) of land. John Molson Sr. died on June 4, 1770. His will promised various properties to his wife and five surviving children. Under their marriage settlement, Snake Hall went to Mary, and was to then pass on to his eldest son, John, upon her death. Mary Molson died on September 21, 1772. John Sr. had named four guardians and trustees for the estate, and initially, the young John Molson's financial affairs were overseen by his paternal uncle, Thomas Molson. But in September 1771 Thomas turned over the duties of trustee and guardian to Samuel Elsdale, possibly due to poor health, as he died the following spring. Under Samuel Elsdale's oversight, all of the Molson children were removed from Snake Hall while it was rented out for income, ultimately to the benefit of their trusts. John went to live with a man named William Robinson, and at age 12 in 1776 was consigned to the care of a Mr. Whitehead, who was paid for his board and education until 1780, when he turned 16. Writers have criticized Samuel Elsdale for his oversight and stinginess, but he seems to have performed his duties prudently, although John Molson plainly chafed under his guardianship.^[2]

In 1782, at the age of 18, Molson immigrated to Canada, but he almost didn't make it. The ship he was on was lost at sea, but fortunately Molson was rescued from the frigid ocean. In 1786 he returned briefly to England, and it was during that year that Molson picked up the book "Theoretic Hints on an Improved Practice in Brewing" by John Richardson. Molson returned to Canada with more money and a new mindset. Many British Loyalists from the United States were immigrating to Canada. This new influx increased the demand for beer. Molson worked harder than ever, staying up long into the night. He hired an apprentice, Christopher Cook, and a loyalist housemaid, Sarah Insley Vaughan, whom he was to marry.

Sarah (1751-1829) was the daughter of Thomas Vaughan of Harnham Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland. She was the niece of Wilmot Vaughan, 1st Earl of Lisburne and through her mother's family, the Aynsleys, a cousin of the Duke of Atholl. She emigrated to the United States with her first husband, David Tetchley, but ten years later left him, and reverting to her maiden name she made her way to Montreal, penniless, until taken in by Molson.

Soon Molson’s beer was in such demand that according to one of his diary entries "Cannot serve half my customers and they are increasing every day." One of the major reasons for this was the wide appeal of his beer to different classes of Montreal society. High British officers had been drinking imported London porters and the city merchants preferred Bristol. Yet Molson’s beer was special as it was ‘universally liked’ (a quote from Molson’s diary). Molson soon began attending church. It was here that he met many influential and wealthy businessmen like fur trader James McGill, Joseph Frobisher, founder of the North West Company, and Alexander Mackenzie.

Career success[link]

Between 1788 and 1800, Molson’s business grew quickly into one of the larger ones in Lower Canada. During these years Molson and his wife had four children, John Junior Jr, Thomas (who died shortly after birth), another Thomas, and William (aka. Billy).

By the start of the 19th Century, Molson’s small brewery had grown tenfold. Molson now had the money to improve his business by buying new technology. He toyed with the idea of buying a steamship after seeing Fulton’s 'Vermont' go down the Hudson. Molson’s steamship would be the first in Canada. Molson teamed up with John Jackson and John Bruce who would build a ship for Molson in return for putting up the money and part ownership. Built in Montreal (with engines produced at Forges Saint-Maurice in Trois-Rivières ) in 1809, Accommodation became the first steamship to ride on the waters of the St. Lawrence. This was a great feat for Molson but, from a business viewpoint, it was a net loss, costing ₤4000 by 1810.^[3] Molson was determined to make money on his ships so he dismantled Accommodation and purchased two steamship engines from England. He combined the two engines and the remains of Accommodation to create Swiftsure, a magnificent ship that was seen as a vision of elegance. During this time Molson’s business continued to grow and the War of 1812 pushed sales even higher. Swiftsure was leased to the British army and brought in a supplemental income. In 1815, Molson was elected to represent Montreal East in the legislative assembly on the platform of building a wharf.

As Molson became more occupied by his multiple businesses and his seat in the assembly, his three sons began to take a much larger role in the companies. John Jr managed the steamships, Thomas was married in England and would frequently travel sending back tips and advice to his father, and William was in charge of the brewery. In 1816, Molson built Mansion House Hotel which coincided with the Assembly’s acceptance of the wharf. Molson’s hotel was only for those who could afford luxury. The hotel offered Montreal’s first library, boats rides on the river, well-furnished rooms and six-course dinners, famous throughout all of Montreal. In 1817, John Richardson, George Moffatt joined together to create the "Montreal Bank." The three offered Molson partnership in it but Molson refused for the backers of this project had just come off of multiple failed banks in the United States and he felt it was a risky investment. Molson changed his mind not long after and the bank became fully Canadian-owned when the U.S partners sold their shares after the U.S financial crisis in the fall of 1818. By 1822, the Montreal Bank had received a charter from Britain and chose to change their name to ‘The Bank of Montreal.’

In 1819, Molson had a short bout of sickness. It was during this time that he noticed the only hospital in the city, Hôtel Dieu, only held 30 beds. Molson proposed to the assembly that a new hospital be established that would contain 200 beds. Although the assembly denied his request there was much private support and soon donations came pouring in. By May the new hospital, the Montreal General Hospital, was opened on Craig Street (now St. Antoine).

A crisis almost struck the Molsons in 1821 when the Mansion House Hotel caught fire. Luckily the books from the library were saved but not much more was salvageable. Molson was undaunted by this and had ideas to build an even grander hotel, a true testament to his character. While John Jr. and William took care of the businesses within Canada, Thomas was busy working in England. Thomas brought over 237 gallons of beer to London, England. The response was encouraging and Thomas brought another 1385 gallons on his next trip. Molson's had its first international market.

By 1825, Molson’s hotel was completely rebuilt and renamed the British American Hotel. After the hotel was completed Molson built a theatre adjacent to it. By November, Molson’s Theatre Royal was completed, the first theatre in Montreal.

Never resting, Molson continued to build his empire by purchasing multiple steamships and creating the St. Lawrence Steamboat Company. This fleet of ships was so big that it outnumbered all of those operating in the United States. In 1826 Molson decided to run against a young Louis-Joseph Papineau but resigned quickly after discovering the amount of support Papineau had from the French and the Irish.

On March 18, 1829 Sarah Vaughn, John Molson’s wife, died after acquiring rheumatism and using the only known cure, laudanum. Sarah became addicted to this opium-based painkiller and died from the effects. Molson sold the house they lived together in and moved on with his life. His four-year term as President of the Bank of Montreal ended and Molson did not run for a second. Even at the age of 67 Molson did not contemplate retirement: one of his biggest projects still lay ahead.

Since 1825, Molson had followed reports of the first railways being built in England. Molson had told the head of this project, Jason Pierce, that he was interested. Pierce did not forget about Molson’s interest and in 1832 Molson’s request for a railroad was accepted by the Assembly. The railway connected the St. Lawrence to the Hudson River, making the trip from Montreal to New York much quicker. This was the first railway ever constructed in Canada.

After his multiple successful proposals, John Molson was appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada. He was considered part of the ‘Chateau Clique’ as he was a rich English businessman. The people were losing their faith in the English businessmen like Molson and were turning to men like Papineau and Robert Nelson, both members of the Patriotes. Unfortunately a cholera epidemic struck Canada in 1832 and 1834 causing the railroad project to lose much of its momentum. Many businesses closed in Montreal but the Molsons continued work as usual. In 1833 Molson’s hotel burned down again. This time though, Molson decided not to rebuild it.

After the second cholera epidemic, when things returned to normal, John Molson’s railroad project began to gain speed. Unfortunately, Molson never lived long enough to see his last dream realized. Molson caught a high fever in December 1835. He wrote his will on January 10, 1836 and died later that day. In his will, Molson named John Molson Jr., Thomas Molson, William Molson, George Moffatt and Peter McGill executors.

See also[link]

• John Carling
• John Labatt
• William Dow
• Molson
• John Molson School of Business
• Molson Coors
• Molson Family

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Biography" (in French). Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours. National Assembly of Quebec. http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/molson-%28pere%29-john-4519/index.html. 
• "John Molson". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2005. 

Rob Wells is a multi-platinum, award-winning producer/songwriter based in Toronto & Los Angeles.

Wells has worked with Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Adam Lambert, Nick Lachey, Miranda Cosgrove, Mika, Backstreet Boys, Paloma Faith, Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton John, Daisy Dares You, Boyzone, Matt Dusk, Marie-Mai, Shiloh, RyanDan, Ry Cuming & many others.^[1]

Rob's work has been featured on So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With The Stars, One Tree Hill, The View, Late Show with David Letterman, Laguna Beach, House Of Carters, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Instant Star,^[2] & 20th Century Fox's Flicka.

In 2005, Wells (along with Christopher Ward) placed first in the International Songwriting Competition's Top40/Pop Category with the song "There's Us",^[3] which was later recorded by Alexz Johnson, Backstreet Boys and Jennifer Ewbank.

Wells received a SOCAN #1 award for Matt Dusk's "All About Me", having reached the top of the Canadian AC Radio Charts in August 2006.^[4]

In the summer and fall of 2008, Rob appeared on YTV's "The Next Star" as a music producer.^[5] He was also on an episode of E!'s "House Of Carters".^[6]

In the winter of 2011, his co-written song "Comme Avant" with Marie-Mai spent 11 weeks at #1 in Quebec.

He is the younger brother of writer/producer Greg Wells.^[7]

Selected discography[link]

• Stereos (Self Titled) by Stereos
• My World by Justin Bieber
• My Worlds Acoustic by Justin Bieber
• For Your Entertainment by Adam Lambert
• Kiss & Tell by Selena Gomez
• Unbreakable by Backstreet Boys
• What's Left Of Me by Nick Lachey
• Brother by Boyzone
• Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? by Paloma Faith
• Duet by Ronan Keating
• Sparks Fly by Miranda Cosgrove
• Happy Ending by Mika
• Back In Town - by Matt Dusk
• Stereos by Stereos
• Picture Imperfect by Shiloh
• Somewhere Else by Eva Avila

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rob Wells on Myspace
• Rob Wells on Songwriters Association of Canada