LVMH
In the stock market crash of October 1987, Arnault bought shares of LVMH, the new group in the luxury sector resulting from the merger, which materialized on June 3, 1987, of two French groups: Moët-Hennessy (Moët & Chandon, Ruinart, Mercier, Canard-Duchêne and Hennessy), on the one hand, and Louis Vuitton (Louis Vuitton Malletier, Givenchy, Champagne Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin), on the other. The following year, in 1988, the group began searching for investors. Louis Vuitton CEO Henry Racamier and shareholders are demanding Arnault take a larger stake in the company. With more than 25% of the shares, Arnault becomes one of the main shareholders of the group.
In this same period, the group's management is going through a difficult time: in addition to the disagreement between the families, the two co-presidents resulting from the merger (Racamier for Louis Vuitton and Alain Chevalier for the wine and spirits division) disagree regarding the strategic decisions that the group must take, thus paralyzing LVMH's expansion. Chevalier wanted to sell the wine and spirits activities to other groups, while Racamier, who then had a minority stake in the new group, wanted to regain Louis Vuitton's independence. In this context, Arnault considers that the group must recover a single direction and tries to place himself at the head of it. Arnault takes advantage of the disagreements between Racamier and Chevalier and proclaims himself as the key shareholder for the future of the group - he forges successive alliances with the two opposing parties.
To take definitive control of the group, Arnault launches a takeover bid. Taking advantage of the stock market and shareholding chaos, in July 1988 he became the main shareholder of LVMH and the majority shareholder on January 6, 1989, with the help of Lazard and Crédit Lyonnais. Arnault thus manages to dethrone Chevalier. On January 13, 1989, Arnault was unanimously elected president of the board of directors of LVMH. Racamier tries by all means to invalidate Arnault's takeover bid.[6] However, on May 16, 1989, the Stock Market Operations Commission considered that no irregularity had been committed. Arnault's public purchase offer is declared perfectly valid. Arnault confirms his position at the head of the group. LVMH's financial structure makes Arnault a shareholder CEO. That is, he directs the group from an operational point of view, in addition to being its main shareholder.[7].
Without further delay, Arnault launches an ambitious plan for the group's expansion, which will make LVMH the world's leading luxury goods group. In eleven years, the group's value increased fifteen-fold, while turnover and profits grew by 500%. To do this, Arnault relies on a series of governance standards:[8].
In July 1988, Arnault bought Céline "Celine (fashion house)"). In 1993, LVMH buys Berluti and Kenzo "Kenzo (brand)"). That same year, Arnault bought the economic newspaper La Tribune, without ever recovering its sales level despite investments worth almost one hundred and fifty million euros.[9] In November 2007, he decided to sell this newspaper to acquire another French economic publication, Les Échos for two hundred and forty million euros.[10].
Acquisitions happen. In 1994, LVMH bought the Guerlain perfume house. In 1996, Arnault bought Loewe. Later, he was followed by Marc Jacobs and Sephora in 1997, Thomas Pink" in 1999, Emilio Pucci in 2000, Fendi, DKNY and La Samaritaine in 2001, etc. At the end of the nineties, Arnault turned art into a pillar of his group's communication strategy with the acquisition of Phillips, the third largest auction house in the world (125 million euros), and the main French auctioneer. Tajan.[11].
In 1996, LVMH acquired 38% of the capital of Château d'Yquem, a superior first cru wine from the Sauternes region. He became the majority shareholder in 1998 with 64% of the shares. Between 1998 and 2001, he became passionate about the new economy and invested specifically in boo.com, Libertysurf and Zebank through his specialized holding company Europatweb. The crash of Internet values starting in March 2000 and the attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York convinced him to accelerate his exit from this sector through a transfer to the Suez group. Libertysurf is sold to Telecom Italia and Zebank to Egg plc.
In a symbolic gesture of the growth and strength of LVMH in the United States, Arnault decided to regroup, in the 1990s, all its activities in the same skyscraper in New York. He chooses Christian de Portzamparc to carry out this project,[12] in which he is personally involved.[13] On December 8, 1999, the LVMH skyscraper is inaugurated in the presence of Hillary Clinton.[14].
In 2005, he became the richest man in France. According to the 2006 list by Forbes magazine, which includes the most important fortunes on the entire planet, she surpasses her compatriot Liliane Bettencourt and enters the top ten in seventh position, with an estimated fortune of thirty billion US dollars (23.5 billion euros).
On March 23, 2007, the Arnault group acquires a stake in Carrefour together with Colony Capital. In 2008, it entered the yacht market with the purchase of Princess Yachts for a total of 253 million euros and, later, assumed control of Royal van Lent for an almost equivalent amount.[15].