Alain Chevalier

"To protect the capital of Moët-Hennessy, Bruno Roger proposes to Alain Chevalier to issue 800 million francs (122 million euros) of bonds with warrants (OBSA). These are fixed-income securities that can later be converted into shares."

"This is the birth of LVMH. "We have decided to come together to form a new and very important global entity in the field of high-quality and prestigious products with a strong export vocation," he explains. Henry Racamier, seventy-four years old, adds: "Together we will be stronger." In response to questions, Alain Chevalier lists superlatives. With 13 billion francs in turnover, the new group will be the world leader in luxury industries: 1.3 billion francs in profit, 25 billion francs in market capitalization, enough to impress opponents."

""We weren't even married for eight days when Racamier came to my office to tell me that we absolutely had to change the color of the letterhead, which wasn't brown enough for his taste," complained Alain Chevalier."

"Above all, a few days before the meeting, LVMH's stock has once again soared on the stock exchange. Who is buying? Racamier started it. Immediately, Arnault reacted by taking 10% of the capital. He brings out the big guns in the face of his rival's rifle. "It was an attack, it was entirely legitimate that we respond without delay," explained the CEO of Dior to justify this investment of 4.1 billion francs made in three days, without his partner Guinness being consulted, contrary to the terms of their agreement, which will provoke the anger of Anthony Tennant, forced to finance 40%. The Englishman is starting to think that young Arnault is exaggerating. But can he go so far as to endanger the global distribution agreement between the two groups? Not really. And the presence of Alain Chevalier helps to calm him down."

"The two men go up to the sixth floor to check the press releases that have been prepared. Arnault eliminates without hesitation the one that pays a strong tribute to the previous management in favor of the more sober one, which nevertheless briefly praises Alain Chevalier and Jean-Louis Masurel. Masurel? That's too much for Arnault, who crosses out the sentence with a stroke of a pen: it's not good to come from a prominent family in the north. Arnault hates Masurel, whom he has always perceived as condescending towards him. On the other hand, next to "Bernard Arnault, elected...", he adds: "unanimously". And it will take Racamier's communication services to insist that Arnault finally accept his title of vice-chairman of the executive board in the final press release."

"Bernard Arnault, a minority in votes, facing the Vuitton clan, had no interest in revealing himself. Sitting for the first time alongside his two illustrious partners, he even gives a noticed nod to management: "I trust the men in place. Alain Chevalier retains full latitude to lead the company. You don't change a winning team.""

"The threat of a raid is becoming increasingly clear. Alain Chevalier and Jean-Louis Masurel call on Bruno Roger for help. Together, they reflect on different means of deterrence and decide on an issuance of bonds with subscription warrants for shares (OBSA) on the eurofranc market. Shareholders waive their preferential subscription rights in favor of potential foreign investors whose names they don't even seek to know. The issuance is launched in mid-March 1987 under the direction of David Dautresme, managing partner of Lazard. The bank on Boulevard Haussmann takes the lead of the banking pool which includes Crédit Lyonnais, BNP, and Crédit Suisse-First Boston. Each bond, worth 10,000 francs, is accompanied by 18 warrants allowing subscription to Moët-Hennessy shares at 2,720 francs until April 1990. The bonds and warrants are listed separately. In total, the operation ultimately yields nearly 4 billion francs and potentially represents 18% of the group's capital."

"In fact, Alain Chevalier and Henry Racamier will only carry out one operation together, which will not succeed: the secret purchase of 10% of Hermès' capital through Crédit Lyonnais. A hostile operation that the president of Vuitton will carefully hide from Hermès' president, Jean-Louis Dumas. The veil will never be lifted, and Lyonnais will eventually resell this stake to the traditional bankers of the saddler."

"The president of Vuitton acknowledges his mistake. He was wrong about Bernard Arnault. He says he had a premonition: "When I signed the alliance pact with him in June 1988, I extended my hand to him. A rag. I had an animal reaction, thinking I was wrong. But it was done. After that, I rationalized." Today, he regrets Alain Chevalier, with whom, after all, the relationship could have been less difficult."

"As for the Moët and Hennessy families, they capitulate. Do they have a choice? They think not. Many descendants of these traditional shareholders of the company work in its subsidiaries. They have always had the intelligence to trust the manager. This was the case with Alain Chevalier. Obviously, the new president confuses them. His practices shock them and differ from the company's habits. But they give him the benefit of the doubt. For now, they observe and play with him."

"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."