Sonae SGPS SA is a Portuguese multinational with a diversified portfolio of retail, financial services, technology, shopping centres and telecommunications businesses. Sonae (Sociedade Nacional de Estratificados) was founded by Afonso Pinto de Magalhães in 1959.
In 1965, Belmiro Mendes de Azevedo joined Sonae as a researcher. He would go on to take control of the company in 1974.
Sonae grew during the 1980s with diversification in construction, distribution and retail. The company acquired Portugal’s largest particleboard manufacturer, Agloma, in 1984 and expanded internationally with its UK subsidiary the same year.
Sonae launched IPOs for seven of its holdings in 1987 and extended its portfolio into real estate in 1989 with the opening of two shopping centres. The company established its broadcasting and publishing business during the 90s and listed its media and telecommunications company, Sonaecom, on the Lisbon Stock Exchange in 2000.
In 2013, the company merged its media and telecommunication brands, ZON and Optimus, into the single entity NOS.
Today, Sonae is Portugal’s largest business group and a leader in the country’s food retail marketplace.
- Family name: Belmiro Mendes de Azevedo family
- Sector: Consumer Products & Retail
- Founded: 1959
- Founder: Afonso Pinto de Magalhães
- Country: Portugal
- Company headquarters: Porto, Portugal
- CEO: Cláudia Azevedo
- Revenue: US$6.1 billion
- Family ownership: 52.6%
- Employees: 40,738
- Website: https://www.sonae.pt/en/
