Helping an Egyptian pharmaceutical family through succession and restructuring

The situation

An Egyptian family operates businesses within the pharmaceutical industry. Following the death of the patriarch, the family faced a period of transition.

Ownership and management of the family business subsequently passed to the second generation (three sons and one daughter).

The family sought to preserve unity and ensure long-term participation in the business. They also wanted to restructure ownership to avoid forced heirship rules in Egypt, while maintaining equality across the different family branches.

The client’s goals

• Implement a smooth generational transition following the passing of the patriarch.
• Set out clear, fair ownership arrangements across all family branches, creating a structure that can evolve and support future generations as the family grows.
• Preserve family unity and allow family members to remain involved in the operating businesses.
• Mitigate the impact of Egyptian forced heirship rules on succession planning.

Our approach

We recommended that our Family Office team support the family to:

• Restructure the operating businesses into a single holding company structure.
• Align trust ownership so that each family branch holds an equal interest in the holding company and underlying operating businesses.
• Involve our fiduciary team to support long-term succession and ownership planning.
• Establish separate trusts for each second-generation family branch that will hold family wealth and business interests.
• Implement governance mechanisms to support decision-making as the family expands into future generations.
• Create a holding company consolidating the family’s pharmaceutical operating businesses.

Outcomes (to date)

• The family has achieved a fair and seamless transfer of ownership to the second generation, underpinned by a well defined governance framework.
• One trust per family branch has been established, providing clarity and long-term succession planning.
• A strong, scalable structure has been built that encourages and sustains the participation of third  and fourth generation family members.
• Equal ownership has been established across family branches, reducing the risk of future disputes.

Disclosure: Case studies are provided for illustrative purposes only and are based on real client or former client engagement. Some scenarios may reflect client experiences or work originally performed by a firm that has since been acquired. All client names, identifying details and contextual elements have been anonymised to protect client confidentiality. The outcomes described reflect the experience of a particular client. Results are not guaranteed and may vary based on each client’s individual circumstances, market conditions, regulatory requirements and specific financial objectives.

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