LVMH raises stake in Hermes to 20.2%

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the luxury goods giant controlled by Bernard Arnault, has raised its stake in Hermès to 20.2%, up from 17.1%. According to

a

New York Times

report,

Arnault is now the largest individual shareholder.

The family that controls Hermès has said the company is not for sale. On Dec. 5, the family shareholders announced that they would create a holding company that would enable family members to trade among themselves. The move would “effectively guarantee that fewer than 10% of the stock traded freely on the market,” the

Times

article said.

Shareholder advocates have asked regulators to make the family offer to take the company private, according to the

Times

report. In addition, Arnault faces an investigation by French regulators into whether his derivatives-based purchases of Hermès stock violated disclosure laws. (Source:

New York Times,

Dec. 21, 2010.)