The background to the legal dispute is the complicated ownership structure at Aldi Nord.
(Photo: imago images/penofoto)
Dusseldorf The heirs of the Aldi founder’s son Berthold Albrecht, who died in 2012, suffered another defeat in the legal dispute over power at the discounter Aldi Nord. The Higher Administrative Court of Schleswig-Holstein confirmed on Thursday that the current composition of the board of directors of the Jakobus Foundation was illegal. Two of the four positions on the foundation’s board of directors have to be filled. That would significantly limit the power of the family in the important body.
An inheritance dispute has been raging at Aldi Nord for years. The background is the complicated ownership structure of the discounter. The company is owned by three foundations based in Schleswig-Holstein: the Markus, Lukas and Jakobus foundations. Large investments and important decisions can only be approved by the foundations unanimously.
Shortly before his death in 2012, Berthold Albrecht changed the statutes of the Jakobus Foundation, into which he had placed most of his wealth. As a result, the composition of the foundation’s board of directors was reorganized, which significantly limited the influence of his own family on the foundation and thus on the company. On the other hand, his heirs – the widow Babette Albrecht and the four daughters and the son – had sued, which triggered a legal dispute lasting several years. The aforementioned stood on one side, on the other the second founder’s son Theo Albrecht junior.
According to the wishes of the founder’s son Berthold Albrecht, only two family members should be represented on the foundation board. In addition, a person from the board of directors of the Aldi Nord group of companies and a lawyer from the company’s environment are to be added. Currently, however, there are three daughters of Berthold Albrecht and a lawyer who advises the family in the foundation. According to the court, this does not meet the requirements of the foundation’s charter.
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The higher administrative court ruled that the fact that the foundation’s board of directors is composed contrary to the provisions of the articles of association means that it can no longer make any decisions. According to the court, this jeopardizes the purpose of the foundation. This consists, for example, of promoting the expansion of the Aldi Nord group of companies with the income from the foundation’s assets.
Improper Payments
In addition, the court questioned whether the distributions to the family members decided by the board of directors were legal. Because the amount and frequency of the payments are “entirely at the discretion” of the current foundation board members and not legitimized due to the incorrect composition of the body.
Berthold Albrecht’s heirs are accused of illegally approving payments from the Jakobus Foundation. They are said to have paid out millions every year. Unlike Theo Albrecht junior, Babette Albrecht and her children are not actively involved in the company.
The Higher Administrative Court of Schleswig-Holstein confirms previous judgments. The court had already declared the amendment to the statutes to be legal in December 2017, and in 2019 the Federal Administrative Court confirmed the decision. The court ordered on Thursday that the Jakobus Foundation must implement this immediately.
More: Aldi, Haribo, Vorwerk – 68 of the 100 largest family companies have no women on the board