On the heels of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton chairman Bernard Arnault’s statement that he will relinquish most of his 23% holding in Hermès, LVMH has filed a regulatory statement outlining how it will execute the divestment to shareholders. According to the statement, LVMH shareholders will get two Hermès shares for every 41 LVMH shares they own and LVMH will communicate the distribution at least four business days before it takes place. The Hermès shares will be valued at the opening trading price on the day of the payment, not exceeding 235.2 euros a share, valuing the stake at as much as $7.4 billion.
This move will seemingly put an end a long-standing battle between the two luxury rivals (see a timeline of their many legal battles here). According to Reuters, “LVMH is distributing its Hermès stake to shareholders almost four years after it started building the holding without Hermès’s knowledge. The payment, due to be completed by Dec. 20, will leave Groupe Arnault, the family holding company of LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault, with an 8.5 percent interest in Hermès.” More to come …