LVMH makes €6.5bn bid for Christian Dior Couture

Luxury conglomerate LVMH has made a €6.5bn offer to acquire the Christian Dior Couture business from Christian Dior in a move that aims to simplify the Christian Dior and LVMH Group structures.

In a separate move the Arnault Family Group, controlled by LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, is bidding to take control of the Christian Dior shares it does not currently control. The move will bring the entire Christian Dior brand under the control of LVMH, which will incorporate it into its Fashion & Leather Goods division.

At present the Christian Dior group comprises LVMH and Christian Dior Couture. The Christian Dior Couture business includes the brand's apparel, jewellery and accessories, while perfumes and beauty are controlled by LVMH.

The formal offer is expected to be filed by the end of May and is subject to clearance by the French financial markets authority, and the project represents an "important milestone" for the group, Arnault said.

"The corresponding transactions will allow the simplification of the structures, long requested by the market, and the strengthening of LVMH’s Fashion & Leather Goods division thanks to the acquisition of Christian Dior Couture, one of the most iconic brands worldwide," he said.

"They illustrate the commitment of my family group and emphasize its confidence in the long-term perspectives of LVMH and its brands. I am delighted to announce this project today and thus continue and reinforce the development of LVMH in France and worldwide," Arnault added.

LVMH's Fashion & Leathergoods brands include Loewe, Céline, Fendi, Givenchy, Kenzo, Marc Jacobs and Nicholas Kirkwood while in perfume and cosmetics it controls Guerlain, Acqua di Parma and Maison Francis Kurkdjian among others.