Arnault Family to Take Full Control of Christian Dior in $13 Billion Deal -- 3rd Update
26 April 2017 - 4:03AM
Dow Jones News
By Matthew Dalton
PARIS -- French billionaire Bernard Arnault is proposing to pay
EUR12 billion ($13.04 billion) to unite his storied fashion house
Christian Dior with his luxury conglomerate LVMH.
Mr. Arnault used Dior as the basis of his empire starting in the
1980s, building what is now LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE
into the world's largest luxury company with a complex web of
ownership: The Arnault family owns 74.1% of Christian Dior SE,
which in turn has a controlling 41% stake in LVMH and owns all of
Christian Dior Couture, the fashion label.
That has meant LVMH's minority shareholders have missed out on
direct exposure to Dior's rapid growth in recent years, as the
label has been considered an independent affiliate of LVMH despite
having the same controlling shareholder. Mr. Arnault moved to fix
that on Tuesday.
The Arnault family said it would pay EUR260 a share, or EUR12
billion, for the 25.9% of Christian Dior SE it doesn't own. Then
LVMH will acquire all of Christian Dior Couture in an internal
transaction valuing the label at EUR6 billion.
The EUR12 billion price tag on the Dior SE stake is a 14.7%
premium to where Dior's shares closed on Monday.
"The price we're paying is perhaps a little expensive, but in 30
years we'll be happy we did it," Mr. Arnault said at a press
conference.
Though LVMH and Dior have routinely cooperated with each other,
LVMH executives said the companies can't fully share marketing,
finance and administrative resources because of their differing
shareholders. That should change once the deal is complete, they
said.
Mr. Arnault said the plan would simplify the structure of the
businesses, which had "long been requested by the market," as well
as strengthen LVMH's fashion and leather-goods division with the
addition of Christian Dior Couture.
Shares in Christian Dior soared 11% on the news in Paris
trading, while LVMH rose about 4%.
LVMH's sales have proved resilient to recent weakness in the
global luxury market. Revenue rose 5% last year, despite terror
attacks in Europe and new rules passed by Beijing aimed at pushing
globe-trotting Chinese shoppers to spend more at home. Sales in the
first quarter of the year surged 15%, easily beating
expectations.
The proposed transaction would be the 68-year-old Mr. Arnault's
biggest acquisition in years, giving LVMH one of the most elite
brands in fashion. It also marks the culmination of Mr. Arnault's
decadeslong turnaround of Dior.
Mr. Arnault took control of Dior in 1985, after a group of
investors he led purchased its parent company, a lumbering French
industrial conglomerate that was near collapse. Mr. Arnault sold
off unprofitable businesses and closed factories but kept Dior, his
first foray into the fashion business.
"Dior was the first one," said Concetta Lanciaux, an LVMH
executive who worked with Mr. Arnault for decades. "Your first one
is always the best."
To revive the business, he canceled many licensing deals signed
by the French fashion house that he felt had damaged the brand. It
is a playbook he used repeatedly as LVMH bought dozens of luxury
brands over the next 30 years, Ms. Lanciaux said.
"When you give licenses for your product, it's not as good as if
you're making it," she said. "That was where he first developed the
strategy: doing your own manufacturing, no outsourcing."
The transaction will also reduce Mr. Arnault's holdings of
Hermès International SCA. Mr. Arnault had accumulated an 8.5% stake
in the French luxury house during an aborted attempt several years
ago to take over the company. Hermès shares have rallied recently,
giving Mr. Arnault a stronger currency with which to buy his stake
in Dior.
"He's swapping more LVMH and more Dior shares for less Hermès
exposure," said Luca Solca, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas.
Mr. Arnault is proposing to buy Dior's shares using a mix of
cash and his Hermès shares. News that Mr. Arnault's shares would be
hitting the market pushed Hermès shares down 4.5% in Paris
trading.
Dior's results have surged in recent years, with the company
reporting a profit of EUR252 million on sales of EUR1.9 billion
last year, compared with EUR85 million on sales of EUR1 billion in
2011.
Write to Matthew Dalton at Matthew.Dalton@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 25, 2017 13:48 ET (17:48 GMT)
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