Jacques Rober

"Therefore, Tennant is not in a position to push the bids. Is this a sufficient reason to surrender to Bernard Arnault, hands and feet tied? His only way out: a clause that allows him to exit Jacques Rober by selling his shares to Arnault from July 1, 1991-but at 80% of their stock market value. This means that Arnault will be able to easily borrow to buy back the shares held by Guinness if Tennant wants to sell them. He will have a guaranteed profit."

"His most difficult appointment takes place in the evening, during a dinner with Anthony Tennant. The dispute between the two men is considerable. Tennant was on the verge of betraying Arnault in recent days. Each of them, one after the other, had solo purchased LVMH shares, in violation of their agreements that bind them within Jacques Rober. For this, Tennant had even threatened Arnault with legal action by letter. And Arnault, for his part, had stopped the last attack by brandishing the accusation of insider trading to the administrators. The dinner continues until 5 am, in the small light of dawn: unheard of for an early riser like Arnault! This shows the importance, for him, of this negotiation. The agreement finally reached provides that Guinness will increase its stake in Jacques Rober from 40 to 45% and will have a seat on the LVMH board. A masterstroke: Arnault secures an additional 5% of his financing without losing an ounce of his power."

"rnault saw potential in Christian Dior, a more attractive company within his group. He believed that he could better convince investors by showcasing the store on Avenue Montaigne. However, there was a problem: Dior was indeed a magical, universally known name, but it was a small business with only 600 million in revenue and 50 million in profits. It was valued at 1 billion at most, which was far from the 7 billion needed. Undeterred, Arnault decided to inflate Dior's value with Jacques Rober's stake in LVMH. As a result, the fashion house became a holding company valued at over 8 billion. For the first time, the prestige of a brand, transformed into a holding company, was used to attract investors."

"Arnault will therefore use the third solution, that of cascading. This involves stacking control companies on top of each other and opening their capital to minority shareholders who wish to be associated with the presumed success. These can be anonymous small investors or clearly identified external partners. He had already practiced this in 1986 when he had to pay cash for the last Willot shares. To find the 400 million francs, he sold a portion of the capital of Arnault et Associés, the former Férinel, his holding company, to Crédit Lyonnais and Duménil-Leblé. The following year, he raised funds by listing 13% of Conforama on the stock market. He brought Guinness in at 40%, then 45%, within Jacques Rober, the shell that now holds the LVMH shares. Of course, the sales are always partial. Bernard Arnault's golden rule is to always retain, under any circumstances, 51% of the capital of his companies to ensure he maintains control."

"To understand the reasons for this enrichment, Antoine Gaudino dissected the operations that took place in 1993 and 1994 between the Compagnie Financière du Nord and the Worms group, which sold its subsidiary Financière Truffaut to the former for 800 million francs. Through a complicated scheme, involving mergers, capital reductions, asset transfers from Jacques Rober, Guinness France between Financière Agache on one side, Christian Dior on the other, latent losses would have been lodged with Christian Dior (at the bottom of the cascade) and capital gains with Financière Agache (at the top), according to Antoine Gaudino. He estimates that the "capital gain that should have been recorded in favor of [...] Christian Dior" was 573.6 million francs and claims that it "was diverted by Financière Agache during its intervention on April 29, 1994, just before Christian Dior took over Guinness France.""

"On the eve of autumn, Anthony Tennant is embarrassed. Certainly, the agreements of July 8 have allowed him to strengthen his positions in LVMH and especially in Moët-Hennessy, to which he is linked by a vital distribution agreement. But is the alliance with Bernard Arnault really reliable? Two nights (July 6 and 7) were too short to give birth to "Jacques Rober". The terms of the contract seem increasingly ambiguous as the days go by. Wasn't the Briton naive? And he remembers a banker's joke: "Jacques Rober is JR, the villainous hero of the Dallas series." For Bernard Arnault, the agreements are clear: the two parties are associated for at least three years within Jacques Rober, with 60% for Bernard Arnault and 40% for Guinness, with the aim of acquiring 30% of LVMH, except for "unforeseen circumstances". Each party agrees not to buy outside the joint structure without prior consultation. In other words, it is possible to pick up shares provided that one's partner has been informed, but without waiting for their response. The Briton is worried. Aren't there two possible interpretations? Can't Arnault buy more easily than Guinness? What is an "unforeseen circumstance"? What will happen beyond the 30% threshold? And above all, if Guinness wants to sell its stakes before the three-year deadline, it will only be compensated for 80% of the value of its shares. The terms of the "largely interpretive" agreement reduce Anthony Tennant's room for maneuver."

"On September 15th, a statement from Financière Agache made it clear: Jacques Rober holds 32% of the capital. Considering the Obsa he possesses, his participation amounts to 37.4% after dilution, but more importantly, Bernard Arnault is approaching the blocking minority in voting rights, a blocking minority that until now only the Vuitton clan possessed."

"This power move greatly displeases Anthony Tennant. As a partner within Jacques Rober, he was informed of the acquisitions at the last minute and had to give his agreement within two hours. A little short for an operation that amounts to over 3 billion francs and of which he must finance 40%!"

"So, at 5 am, he concludes an agreement. Anthony Tennant obtains a seat on the new board of directors of LVMH and increases his stake in "Jacques Rober" to 45%. Concession, says Bernard Arnault. Joke, comment the detractors of the young wolf who quip, "Arnault has found 45% of his financing." But Arnault retains what is crucial for him, the exit"