Legal and Procedural Mastery to Avoid Takeover Costs

“Certainly, on January 5 and 6, he launched a real raid on LVMH. In forty-eight hours, he picked up 870,000 shares, or 7.5% of the capital, propelling the share price to 4,720 francs. He thus secured the minority blocking vote, thanked former president Alain Chevalier, and sat in his CEO chair. But he navigated so well through the intricacies of the law that no one has so far concluded that there has been a change of control (in legal terms). This hypothesis would have obliged him to launch a takeover bid or to carry out a price maintenance, at a cost of around 30 billion francs.”

“As for the change of control of LVMH, Arnault feels completely safe. He no longer runs the risk of being forced to launch a takeover bid. Since Férinel, he has taken the greatest precautions every time he undertakes an operation. This "procedural" talent almost always spares him.”