Has the buying spree started again with LVMH, PPR, and Richemont?

[mikeijames]

well, that's when hermes called the feds....

LVMH Will Be Formally Investigated for Sneakily Purchasing Hermès Stock

* 11/5/10 at 11:35 AM

French stock market regulator AMF is probing LVMH for its purchase of a 17.1 percent stake in Hermès, which caught Hermès by surprise when it was announced last month. “An investigation will be launched covering stock movements and the terms of this entry,” said French regulator Jean-Pierre Jouyet. A spokesperson for LVMH said they expect the probe to show that they respected market rules during the purchasing process. [FT]

nymag.com

 

[eternitygoddess]

*gets out the popcorn*

 

[eternitygoddess]

Can anyone provide article(s)/info on LVMH/Gucci Group takeover attempt back in the day?

 

[balmain1914]

LVMH is a control freak.

 

[TianSoFine]

So it looks like LVMH ignored Hermes's statement? Is there no way for a brand to fend off someone trying to buy them if they don't want to be bought?

 

[mikeijames]

^yeah, they could not sell. it's just hard -- speaking generally, not specifically about hermes family members here -- to say, "no," when the money flashes in front of your face.

 

[Street_a_Licious]

well, Hermes seems to be doing well anyway, even in this climate, unless some family members are STARVING for money.

 

[TianSoFine]

So I think it might it be possible that Bertrand Puech and Patrick Thomas don't want LVMH to buy Hermes but the family doesn't mind as much. Or there's another source that's giving LVMH access to massive amounts of shares.

 

[eternitygoddess]

Is there no way for a brand to fend off someone trying to buy them if they don't want to be bought?
​

Hire an investment bank's M&A team, or a private M&A advisory team to help.

 

[mikeijames]

looks like the hermes family is coming together over this whole thing.

Hermès Likens LVMH to ‘a Mosquito Buzzing Around’

* 11/11/10 at 12:35 PM

Hermès Likens LVMH to ‘a Mosquito Buzzing Around’

Bertrand Puech, who manages the Hermès family's involvement in the label, described LVMH's unwanted acquisition of 17.1 percent of the company's stake in an interview on Tuesday: "It's like a mosquito buzzing around, and it's annoying. But it's very difficult to get a mosquito out." While the French government investigates LVMH's sneaky buying tactics, the Hermès family met last week for the first time since LVMH's surprise purchase last month and voted unanimously to retain control of the company, of which they still own 73 percent. At the same meeting, the family decided to funnel their shares into an unlisted holding company so that they don't unknowingly sell their stocks to LVMH like they did the first time around. This won't take place for a while, however, because the family's busy holiday schedule takes precedence over strategizing, according to Peuch. "There are weddings and Christmas parties, but there are no meetings planned," he said.

Hermès Family Weighs Defensive Move [WSJ]

nymag.com

 

[Street_a_Licious]

i love their prioritizing. 'weddings and parties are more important than dealing with you, LVMH!', while sticking their tongues out

 

[Thefrenchy]

"There are weddings and Christmas parties, but there are no meetings planned,"

I love you Bertrand
​

 

[mikeijames]

^one can only imagine how many hundreds of thousands of dollars they have spent on these holiday parties and wedding events. seriously.

 

[Street_a_Licious]

you ever tried good french catering? totally worth it

 

[mikeijames]

well, speaking of parties, it looks like they're mixing a little business with pleasure by flirting with ppr....

Hermès Sticks It to LVMH by Inviting Salma Hayek to Their Paris Store Opening

* 11/19/10 at 09:45 AM

In their latest bout of publicly snubbing LVMH since likening the luxury group to “a mosquito buzzing around,” Hermès hosted a large party for the opening of their new store in Paris and invited Salma Hayek. Normally this wouldn’t mean anything, since Hayek gets invited to lots of fancy, stylish parties, but in this case it does because she’s the wife of François-Henri Pinault, the owner of luxury holding company PPR, who famously thwarted LVMH’s attempted takeover of Gucci in 1999 and is widely viewed as LVMH’s main competitor in the international luxury business. Ever since LVMH sneakily purchased 17.1 percent of Hermès’s stocks last month and seemed poised for a hostile takeover, the Hermès family has loudly protested their presence, accusing LVMH of not being “friendly” and demanding their withdrawal from the family-owned company.

Of course, no one at the party would admit that Hayek was being used as a busty, Gucci-clad pawn in Hermès’s anti-LVMH campaign, particularly Hayek herself. "I don't know about investment; I know about shopping," she told WWD coyly. Hermès CEO Patrick Thomas, who posed for lots of pictures with Hayek, insisted that there was “no message” about her being there, but WWD seemed to detect some sarcasm from Bertrand Peuch when he “deadpanned” that she was just a guest. The store itself is Hermès’s second largest in the world; located in a former swimming pool on Paris’s left bank, it features a florist, a small bookstore, and a tea room, as well as three huts carved from ash wood that are “reminiscent of nomadic tents” and house typical Hermès gear like fancy saddles, leather bags, watches, and scarves.

Hermès Makes a Splash with Flagship on Paris’ Left Bank [WWD]

nymag.com

 

[TianSoFine]

^Lol, this is like psychological warfare. I had no idea Salma Hayek is Pinault's wife, but it makes sense with all the Gucci she wears. It would be funny if they got LVMH to back off but PPR bought Hermes instead.

 

[mikeijames]

^i love this stuff, but yes, they've been together for years now; she wears her fair share of bottega veneta, ysl, and balenciaga, too.

style.com

 

[Street_a_Licious]

^Lol, this is like psychological warfare. I had no idea Salma Hayek is Pinault's wife, but it makes sense with all the Gucci she wears.

when did you ever see her in Gucci?

most of the time she's decked out in McQueen.

 

[modela]

She premiered Gucci couture in Cannes.

 

[mikeijames]

the family's really battening down the hatches with this thing: i guess this is why they call these sort of affairs "hostile takeovers."

Hermès Makes Good on Its Plan to Protect Itself From LVMH * 12/6/10 at 10:30 AM

The Hermès family announced a few weeks ago that they were planning to protect their company from a hostile takeover by LVMH by funneling a majority of their shares into a non-listed holding company where Bernard Arnault can't get his grubby hands on them. And behold, between attending Christmas parties and weddings all month, the family's three branches of shareholding members managed to gather on Friday and place over 50 percent of the company's capital in the unnamed entity. Just because they've relocated their shares doesn't mean that they'll have any less control over them, though: “This internal reclassification will have no impact on the family’s involvement in the capital of Hermès International, nor on the powers of its limited partnership,” the family said in a statement.

There's one catch: The French government usually requires companies to launch a public offering if they pool their shares into a bloc larger then one third, so there could be some legal trouble ahead, since the Hermès family will obviously do no such thing.

Family Boosts Hermès Defenses [WSJ]
Earlier: Hermès’s CEO Calls It ‘the Pretty Flower’ That LVMH Could ‘Kill’

(source: nymag.com)