Les Échos
Strategic Concepts & Mechanics
Primary Evidence
"It must be said that the holder of the second greatest fortune in the world has enough to impress, even Bolloré, twenty times less endowed, according to Challenges' ranking. The latter acknowledges it with humor, when he says to those around him: "He is truly stronger than me. If I had invested the money I earned in LVMH stocks, I would be much richer...". However, the two billionaires started their journey almost at the same time, in the early 1980s, following very parallel paths, without almost ever crossing paths: they are only known to have one common investment, before Lagardère: the music channel Mezzo, acquired on a 50/ 50 basis by Les Échos (owned by LVMH) and Canal +, in July 2019. But for the rest, what similarities!"
"How is it that LVMH did not appear during the threshold declarations at the time of the wave of Bouygues share purchases in 1999? Already, its presence was masked by a sleight of hand. In December 1999, LVMH loaned to Financière Agache, another head company owned 100% by Groupe Arnault, the 3.11% of Bouygues acquired that year. "When LVMH, a listed company and star of the CAC 40, crossed the 5% threshold in Bouygues, there was no declaration because its shares were assimilated to those of Groupe Arnault, which indirectly controls LVMH and had already crossed this threshold," write Les Échos. As a result, LVMH did not appear in the notice of the Financial Markets Council mentioning, at the end of 1999, the crossing of the 10% threshold of Bouygues' capital by Groupe Arnault."