After Johann Rupert, president of Richemont, Bluebell Capital puts pressure on François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering. The activist fund entered the capital of the French luxury group in which the Pinault family holds 42% through its holding company, Artémis. The operation dates from several months ago. It was revealed by Bloomberg, Wednesday July 19, and confirmed to the Reuters agency and the World, Thursday, July 20. The share held is less than 5%, the threshold which would have required the fund to declare this crossing to the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).
According to information from World, Marco Taricco, co-founder of the fund with Giuseppe Bivona, met the management of the group in Paris. However, when asked about the arrival of Bluebell in Kering’s capital, the group’s spokespersons refused to “comment on rumours”.
The luxury sector is very familiar with Bluebell Capital’s methods. The activist fund entered the capital of Richemont in 2021. In the summer of 2022, it led a campaign to obtain that Francesco Trapani, a former LVMH employee, be appointed as an independent director on the board of the Swiss group. His proposal was rejected on September 7, 2022.
Despite this snub, MM. Taricco and Bivona now hold out the hope of a merger between Richemont and Kering. In their eyes, they are complementary. Thanks to Cartier watches and Van Cleef & Arpels rings, the former is a heavyweight in jewelry and watchmaking, industries from which it derives 15 of its 19 billion euros in turnover. The second is renowned for its Saint Laurent or Gucci handbags, ultra-lucrative derivatives of its French and Italian fashion houses, which generated 20.3 billion euros in sales in 2022. Together, they argue, the two would constitute a real challenger to LVMH, a juggernaut of 42 billion euros, 62% of which in fashion, and would seduce the Stock Exchange.
Kering embarrassed by Gucci
However, precisely, Kering and Richemont currently pale in comparison to the LVMH action. It has gained 25% since January. On the stock market, the parent company of Louis Vuitton is worth 428 billion euros. That of Kering is very far from it. Listed in Paris, the group is worth 67 billion euros, or 13% more than in January. And in Geneva, Richemont peaks at 73.5 billion euros, or +13% since the start of 2023.
“In theory, it’s a great idea to merge them”, observes Luca Solca, an analyst at Bernstein. But, in 2021, Mr. Rupert, a billionaire of South African nationality, who holds 51% of Richemont’s voting rights, said no to the banks which had offered him this merger.
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