ZURICH (Reuters) – Richemont has asked its shareholders to reject a nominee proposed by Bluebell Capital Partners for election to the luxury group’s board of directors at its upcoming annual general meeting.
Bluebell is seeking a seat for Francesco Trapani, former head of Italian luxury brand Bulgari and co-founder of Bluebell, at the meeting on September 7.
The activist fund wants Richemont, owner of the Cartier brand, to focus on jewelry and watches, saying it could double its share price in the medium term.
Bluebell also wants to increase the minimum number of board members to six and have an equal number of representatives of shareholders who own type “A” and “B” shares on the board, while Richemont chairman Johann Rupert , owns all of the unlisted B shares, which represent 51% of the company’s voting rights.
“After careful consideration, the Board of Directors recommends voting against the nomination of Bluebell’s nominee as representative of the ‘A’ stockholders and against the election of this individual to the Board of Directors,” Richemont said Monday.
Instead, Richemont has proposed independent director Wendy Luhabe as a representative of these shareholders.
This announcement was, however, welcomed by Bluebell who made it clear that he still wanted to obtain a seat on the board.
“For the first time, the company has recognized and accepted the fact that a representative of the holders of ‘A’ shares has the right to be represented on the board of directors,” Guiseppe Bivona, co-chief executive of the company, told Reuters. Bluebell. “This is a major win for the market.”
Richemont’s board of directors also recommended “voting against the amendments to the company’s articles of association proposed by Bluebell”.
Bluebell told Reuters last month that it has been investing in Richemont for a year and a half and has a stake worth 105 million Swiss francs (107.51 million euros).
(Reporting by John Revill; French version Dina Kartit, editing by Kate Entringer)
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