The world’s largest luxury conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) has increased its stake of Hermès’s shares to more than 20 percent.
Although the Dom Pérignon champagne producer and makers of Louis Vuitton handbags claimed that it had "no intention of launching a tender offer, taking control of Hermès nor seeking board representation" when it bought 17.1 percent of the Hermès International SCA’s stock in October, its shareholder ownership is now up to 20.2 percent.
The Hermès family still owns the majority of shares—more than 70 percent of the company. The share price of the Birkin bag maker has risen up to 5 percent in Paris, which could be related to the speculation that LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault’s intent of taking over Hermes.
According to Bloomberg, Hermès has said that the three branches of its founding family are “fully united” in their desire to retain control of the 173-year-old company.
