LVMH chair and owner Bernard Arnault has taken an equity stake in competing luxury conglomerate Richemont, according to reports in Bloomberg and the FT.
The stake was said to be too small to be made public.
A source told the FT that the stake “does not signal any particular move on Richemont.”
There have been periodic whispers that LVMH wants to take over Richemont, including a report last year in the Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft. In 2022, Richemont rebuffed an attempt by activist investor Bluebell to put former LVMH executive Francesco Trapani on its board, with chairman Johann Rupert arguing that Trapani had a “close relationship” with its main rival.
Many believe that Arnault is particularly interested in Richemont-owned Cartier, as well as another Richemont-owned jeweler, Van Cleef & Arpels. LVMH bought Cartier competitor Tiffany in 2021.
In an LVMH earnings call in January, Arnault called Richemont chair Johann Rupert “an outstanding leader.”
“I don’t in the slightest wish to upset his strategy,” he said, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. “I understand he wants to remain independent. I find that very good. If he wants support to maintain his independence, I’ll be there.”
Photo courtesy of LVMH
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