WWD 12/1/2010 LVMH, Hermes battle shows culture clash

#2
pesky copyright infringement....
the main points.....

"france's latest corporate saga has it all:two of the nation's richest families, acrimony and more than a soupcon of snobbism"

"the family (hermes) has made no secret of its distaste for the man chief executive officer patrick thomas described as a visitor in the garden"

"analysts have no doubt arnault's ultimate goal is a full takeover, noting that the luxury titan is repeating a scenario that has marked all its key acquisitions...."

"....by sticking to a purely financial message, lvmh has effectively pushed hermes into a corner. if its managers point to the company's healthy financial results in order to convince family members not to see their shares to arnault, they are merely highlighting the reason why lvmh started snapping up shares in the first place"
 
#3
"arnault, on the other hand, will probably remain silent while he waits for family members to sell their shares-a process analysts say could take years but is increasingly likely, as a growing number of sixth-generation heirs come into ownership of ever-decreasing portions of the company"

"its the technique of the ottoman strangler-every day it tightens its grip a little. gradually you are going to die, but without realizing it. it is a rampant, stealthy acquisition of shares, and he will end up swallowing the company and digesting it calmly, bit by bit." (an analyst quote)
 
#4
"its like dallas. at best, if consumers pay attention to this, its because they are witnessing the kind of soap opera they usually see ion television, and nothing more. it does not affect the image of the brand in the slightest"
(another analyst quote)

i personally completely disagree with this analyst.......
 
#5
"hermes is a brand name with a distinct identity, while lvmh designates the luxury group that owns 60 brands, ranging from louis vuitton to moet chandon to guerlain."

......." the concept of lvmh may be more abstract in image terms, but the group has a figurehead in arnault, something hermes is lacking."
 
#6
"if history is any indication, the market should know within two to three years if lvmh will achieve a controlling stake in hermes...."

"the technique is always pretty much the same, attempting to take over companies from their family ownership at times of difficulty, in this instance the death of jean-louis dumas earlier this year. mr anault is very good at that."

(how distasteful is that morsel.....YUK!)
 
#7
"late last month, thomas and puech noted the hermes clan had not yet decided whether to take additional measures to protect themselves from their unwelcome suitor. the family is said to be mulling whether to group their shares into a nonlisted holding and has hired several banks to explore avenues to fortify its position."
 
#15
Thank you tesi. This is riveting, to say the least. As someone in a privately-held family business (who wants to keep it that way), I am learning a lot from this.
 
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