Hermes International: Protecting its Family Business from LVMH’s Hostile Takeover

In September 2014, the protracted battle between France-based luxury goods manufacturer and family-managed business, Hermes International SCA (Hermes), and France-based world leader in high-quality luxury products, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (LVMH), ended with Bernard Arnault (Arnault), Chairman, LVMH and richest businessman in France, agreeing to give up most of the US$ 7.5 billion holding he had secretly accumulated in Hermes. While both Arnault and Axel Dumas (Axel), CEO of Hermes, claimed that they were satisfied after ending their battle, Luca Solca (Solca), a luxury analyst at European equities broker, Exane BNP Paribas, said the pact was a victory for Hermes. According to Solca, “[The deal] puts an end to the ambition of LVMH to potentially one day control Hermes...