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French billionaire Bernard Arnault, Europe’s richest man, further tightened his grip on LVMH after he delivered on a promise to boost his holding in the luxury group beyond the 50 percent mark.
Arnault’s family raised its stake in LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE to 50.01 percent, up from 49.77 percent at the end of last year, the company said. It now has 65.94 percent of the voting rights.
“It testifies to the strong confidence of Bernard Arnault and his family in the future of LVMH,” a spokesperson for the family said.
The Arnault clan, which routinely buys up the group’s stock, has capitalised on a slump in LVMH shares amid a luxury industry slowdown to accumulate a bigger stake. The stock has erased close to 38 percent of its value since a record high in April 2023 in line with a post-pandemic demand boom for luxury goods.
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Just this year, LVMH shares have tumbled about 13 percent, valuing the Paris-based company at €280 billion ($330 billion). LVMH is still the biggest company by market capitalisation on France’s benchmark CAC40 index and the fourth largest on Europe’s Stoxx Europe 600.
Arnault, 76, noted during LVMH’s annual results presentation last month that his family’s holding in the conglomerate would surpass 50 percent this year. LVMH posted a weaker-than-expected performance at its key division which includes Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior in the last three months of last year, sending its shares and those of its rivals lower. Its wines and spirits unit saw its third year of falling sales, hurt in particular by a collapse in demand for Hennessy Cognac.
With a net worth of about $185 billion, Arnault ranks 7th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, behind six American tech moguls led by Elon Musk.
Arnault’s five children are all involved in LVMH operations. Earlier this month, his son Antoine, 48, who oversees image and sustainability at the group, was promoted to the group’s executive committee, joining Arnault’s 50-year-old daughter Delphine, who is the CEO of Christian Dior Couture. Arnault’s three youngest children — Alexandre, 33, Frederic, 31, and Jean, 27 — have yet to join the executive committee. All except Jean are LVMH board members.
By Angelina Rascouet
Learn more:
Arnault Snaps Up LVMH Shares After Vowing to Own More Than 50%
The chief executive has long sought to tighten his control over LVMH, a company he’s headed since 1989 and expanded largely through acquisitions into Europe’s second-biggest firm.
Disclosure: LVMH is part of a group of investors who, together, hold a minority interest in The Business of Fashion. All investors have signed shareholders’ documentation guaranteeing BoF’s complete editorial independence.
