Pinault

"In the spring of 1992, Crédit Lyonnais was practically printing money. They had advanced 500 million francs to Tapie to buy Adidas, 600 million to Bolloré, taken 20% of one of Arnault's leading holdings for 520 million, and, among other generous acts, came to the aid of Pinault by buying the former headquarters of CFAO for 1.3 billion."

"This is what happened with Yves Saint Laurent. Pinault had been tempted by luxury diversification for a long time, and the Sanofi Beauté file had been presented to him. After studying it in 1998, he decides not to pursue it, deeming the price too high and, most importantly, lacking the right person to turn the business around. After spending a day at sea in Saint-Tropez on a boat rented by Arnault in July, Pinault makes his decision. He calls the boss of LVMH: "I have decided not to pursue it. I don't have the right people, but you do. I wanted to inform you, Bernard, so that you can do what you want." "François, thank you for letting me know," Arnault responds. This is how LVMH was able to conduct its exclusive negotiation with Sanofi, only to break it off at the last moment. The same thing happened with Château Cheval-Blanc. This first-classed growth of Bordeaux is for sale. All the major potential buyers have, of course, been contacted: Arnault, who controls Château-d'Yquem, Pinault, who owns Château-Latour, as well as Albert Frère, the biggest Belgian fortune, Liliane Bettencourt,"

""I like to build," says De Sole. "Me too," replies Pinault, who suggests transforming Gucci into a multi-brand luxury company, like LVMH. The two men shake hands. The deal is sealed, although there are still many things to be settled, in terms of price and legal protection of the independence promised to Gucci."

"There is also Pinault the business acquirer, who scours commercial courts for nearly twelve years, earning him the nickname "Bernard Tapie of wood." But he avoids appearing in the front line: four collaborators with a controversial reputation do the dirty work for him."

"The same approach was taken with Krug champagne, which was put up for sale by Rémy Cointreau, then pressured by its banks. In early 1999, Pinault studied the file to see if, with Château-Latour, entering the champagne market made sense. He believes it doesn't. Again, he calls Arnault and tells him: "You're alone, Bernard, the way is clear." This time, Arnault only thanks him half-heartedly. And on January 21, 1999, LVMH announces the purchase of Krug champagne for 1 billion francs."

"Like Arnault, Pinault will make the most of the pretension and incompetence of the socialists who have just come to power and have a purely theoretical vision of industrial policy. By proposing to take charge of the recovery of the wood industry, Pinault attracts the good graces of Alain Boublil and facilitates the settlement of his tax transaction. But it is under the right-wing government, which returned to power in 1986, that he will carry out the two major operations that will project him onto the stage:"