LVMH Signed a Secret 2002 Pact to Buy Hermes Heir's Shares. Now He Says His Fortune Is Missing
Reuters documents show LVMH paid at least $20 million in fees while secretly building a Hermès stake, raising questions about its denial of buying Nicolas Puech’s shares.
- Luxury-Goods giant LVMH forcefully denied in a June court filing that it ever attempted to acquire Hermès shares from founding-family heir Nicolas Puech, who alleges he was fleeced of his 6% stake through schemes involving his late wealth manager.
- Documents reviewed by Reuters show LVMH signed a 2002 agreement with Puech's wealth manager Eric Freymond to purchase millions of Hermès shares, with LVMH and its chairman's family holding company paying Freymond's firm at least $20 million in commissions between 2001 and 2009.
- Swiss lawyer Alexandre Montavon testified that Freymond proposed using Puech's accounts as a pass-through to hide LVMH's identity, stating "Freymond suggested to us to make these transactions through Mr. Puech, financed by LVMH, and that's what was done."
- While LVMH contends the 2002 agreement was destroyed in late 2010 and never executed, prosecutors are investigating whether Montavon "participated in the misappropriation of Nicolas Puech's Hermès shares for the benefit of LVMH."
- Puech's 6% stake is currently worth about $10 billion, which he did not discover missing until 2022; the allegations mark the latest chapter in a 25-year rivalry where LVMH accumulated as much as 23% before a 2014 truce after disclosing 17% in October 2010.
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Where Do the Hermès Shares that Louis Vuitton's Owner Wanted to Buy in 2002 Through a "Secret Pact"?
Legal documents consulted by Reuters reveal that LVMH signed an agreement in 2002 to purchase the shares of one of Hermès' more than 100 heirs. Nicolas Puech owned 6% of the capital, but says that the shares disappeared. The transaction was negotiated by consultants of the luxury company and by the manager of Puech's fortune, who died last year. There is an ongoing investigation to find them.
Nicolas Puech, the octogenarian patriarch of the Hermès house, claims that rival luxury brand LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton has hatched a long-running plot to acquire billions worth of shares in his company, Reuters reports.
Legal documents analyzed by Reuters show that LVMH signed, in 2002, an agreement to purchase the shares of the heir to the founding family of rival Hermès, Nicolas Puech, in an operation structured by LVMH representatives with Eric Freymond, Puech's financial consultant, who died last year. The documents also reveal that LVMH and the holding company of its president's family paid at least EUR 20 million in commissions and fees to Freymond's mana…
LVMH, the luxury giant, is accused by Nicolas Puech, heir to Hermès, of subtilizing his 6% stake in the company. Puech, who discovered the disappearance of his shares in 2022, claims 14...
The Economic Times
Times of IndiaLVMH signed a secret 2002 pact to buy Hermes heir's shares. Now he says his fortune is missing
Luxury giant LVMH signed a secret 2002 agreement to buy Hermes shares from Nicolas Puech. The company also paid his wealth manager over twenty million dollars in fees. Puech alleges his fortune vanished through schemes involving his late wealth manager. LVMH denies any attempt to acquire Puech's stake against his will. This revelation raises questions about LVMH's past denials and the missing shares.
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