Friedrich Baur Stiftung

The Friedrich Baur Stiftung (Friedrich Baur Foundation) is a non-profit public foundation under German civil law, founded in 1953 by Friedrich Baur, his wife Kathi Baur, and Kathi's sister Kunigunde "Kuni" Schuh. Headquartered in Burgkunstadt, Germany, the foundation was established to promote medical research and improve patient care at the medical faculty of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), with a particular focus on polio research, and to support the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. The foundation became the sole heir of Friedrich Baur's estate, which included a controlling 51% stake in the mail-order company Baur Versand GmbH & Co. KG. Over the decades, the foundation's governance and the management of its business assets have been the subject of public debate and legal scrutiny, especially regarding executor compensation and the 1997 sale of a 49% stake in Baur Versand to Otto Versand. Today, the foundation continues to fulfill its charitable purposes while maintaining its majority ownership in the Baur Versand group.

The Friedrich Baur Stiftung was established by a deed dated 14 February 1953, signed by Friedrich Baur, his wife Kathi Baur, and Kathi's sister Kunigunde "Kuni" Schuh. The foundation was endowed with a capital of 10,000 Deutsche Mark and a free grant of 250,000 DM, with the stated purpose of promoting research and improving patient care at the medical faculty of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, especially research into polio, and supporting the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. The founders stipulated that the interests of the Baur Versand GmbH company should always be paramount, that jobs should be preserved, and that the operational mail-order business should take precedence over the foundation's claims. They also expressed that "foreign capital interests should never dominate the company and thereby push back service to customers in favor of inappropriate profit-seeking." By 1957, the foundation had received an additional 915,000 DM. In their will dated 20 November 1957, the Baur couple and Kunigunde Schuh made further provisions. They created a six-member foundation board (Kuratorium), three of whom would also serve as executors of the will with a view to the "welfare of the company." These individuals were required to have "economic capability," and their compensation as executors was set at 0.1% of annual sales minus returns. The other three board members were to be appointed ex officio: the rector of LMU, the dean of the LMU medical faculty, and the president of the Academy of Fine Arts. These provisions were to take effect after the death of the last of the three testators. In 1960, the foundation statutes were amended to include the Bavarian Minister-President as an additional executor by virtue of his office. Following the deaths of Friedrich Baur (1965, holding 51.7% of company shares), Kuni Schuh (1970, 10%), and Kathi Baur (1984, 38.3%), the foundation gradually became the sole heir of the company as stipulated in the will. At the end of 1965, the foundation's capital was increased by 15,500 DM. In 1977, Kathi Baur wrote her personal will, which also affected the foundation statutes and limited executor compensation to 240,000 DM per year, to be adjusted for inflation (equivalent to about €363,288 today). By 1984, a total of nearly 9 million DM in additional foundation funds had been provided. Between 1984 and 1994, the executors managed the mail-order business through a newly founded company called Kontor-, Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH (KBV), based in the Munich offices of executor Joachim Zahn on Romanstraße. Employee participation in company success was ensured, among other things, through a supervisory board of the mail-order company with equal representation. Disputes over the success of the foundation's work arose at least by 1997: on the one hand, Baur was the fourth-largest mail-order company in Germany and, according to Baur supervisory board member Wolfgang Winkler, was still "perfectly healthy" in July 1997; on the other hand, the future of the foundation's purpose, especially jobs, no longer seemed secure. Concurrently with the end of the scandal-ridden Amigo affair surrounding Minister-President Max Streibl and the withdrawal of the new Bavarian Minister-President Edmund Stoiber, the executorship was terminated on 31 October 1995 and the KBV was dissolved. The compensation paid to the executors came under public scrutiny. Questions were raised about the legality and moral justifiability of the payments and the performance of the executors. On the one hand, legality was confirmed. On the other hand, it was judged that numerous restructurings had channeled several million DM to lawyers, auditors, and consultants; that the executors and the foundation had ignored the effectiveness of Kathi Baur's restrictive 1977 will; and that this disregard led to excessive compensation, including for the Bavarian Minister-President. Under the foundation supervision of the Regierungspräsident of Upper Franconia, Wolfgang Winkler, the foundation statutes were amended in 1995, including the elimination of the Bavarian Minister-President's seat on the board. As of 1 August 1997, the foundation's core asset, the mail-order business, was spun off into a new company, Baur Versand GmbH & Co. KG, and 49% of the shares were sold to Otto Versand for an estimated 250 to 300 million DM. Management of the new company was fully taken over by Otto, in the form of the 100% Otto subsidiary and general partner Verwaltungsgesellschaft Baur Versand GmbH. The decision was driven by board members and former executors Günter Kadner, Joachim Zahn, and Christian Schnicke, as well as other employer representatives on the supervisory board of the operational mail-order business: Dazert, Köstler, and Winkler. Since then, the participation and involvement structures have become more complex. The employee side's co-determination rights in the operational mail-order business at Baur also ceased; that is, only the shareholders' side is represented on the advisory board of the general partner company. The success of the foundation's management since 1984 was examined in 2015 in a ... [text truncated]

• 1997

  Mail-order business spun off into Baur Versand GmbH & Co. KG; 49% sold to Otto Versand.

• 1995

  Executorship terminated on 31 October; KBV dissolved; foundation statutes amended.

• 1984

  Kathi Baur dies, leaving 38.3% of shares; foundation becomes sole heir.

• 1977

  Kathi Baur writes her personal will, limiting executor compensation.

• 1970

  Kuni Schuh dies, leaving 10% of shares to the foundation.

• 1965

  Friedrich Baur dies, leaving 51.7% of company shares to the foundation.

• 1960

  Foundation statutes amended to include the Bavarian Minister-President as an additional executor.

• 1957

  Will dated 20 November creates a six-member foundation board and sets executor compensation.

• 1953

  Foundation established by Friedrich Baur, Kathi Baur, and Kunigunde Schuh with a deed dated 14 February.

Non-profit foundation with a dual mission: charitable funding and long-term stewardship of a major mail-order business.

1. 1Friedrich Baur Stiftung - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Friedrich-Baur-Stiftung - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org