Chapter 244 LVMH Group

On the roadside next to the Champs-Elysées, Milo stepped out of the car and looked around, seeing nothing but vanity.

This is an elegant place carved by masters over thousands of years, and every detail has texture.

InterContinental Grand Paris is located near the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysées, among a wide range of famous shops, with Dior, and other big brands within easy reach.

Not far away is the Arc de Triomphe, and at a glance you can see the Eiffel Tower, which has almost become the spiritual symbol of France. It is definitely the best geographical location to appreciate the beauty of the city, the elegant environment to experience French luxury, and the most warm and thoughtful service.

Two hours ago, he was still in London.

From London to Paris, Milo took the train, the Eurostar train which is faster than a plane.

It has to be said that these days, the West is indeed superior in technology and culture.

This time he came to Paris in a very low-key manner.

This is mainly because the second phase of the acquisition of LVMH Group has come to an end.

The next step is the real finishing touch, collecting all the shares that can be obtained.

Declare war directly on Bernard Arnault! At the hotel, tidy up and take a short rest.

It was around three o'clock in the afternoon.

In the 8th arrondissement of Paris, in the oldest house near Place Louis XV, there is a Michelin three-star restaurant called Pavillon Ledoyen.

Here, Milo met Alain Chevalier.

"Mr Blackburn, please forgive me, my English is very average."

After a brief greeting, Alain Chevalier said politely.

If we were to ask who in the world dislikes English the most, it would definitely be the French.

The Gallic people have a strong sense of pride in their language and cultural traditions, and they consider French to be a beautiful language.

Many French people even consider French to be the best language in the world.

Moreover, historically, there has been a long-standing rivalry and hostility between Britain and France.

This has led some French people to hold negative feelings towards English.

They believe that English is a symbol of Britain and using it could be seen as a betrayal of French culture and language.

It's so ridiculous that many French people actually know English, but when tourists from other countries ask them in English, they will deliberately pretend not to understand English...

Business elites like Alain Chevalier certainly know English.

It was exactly as he said, very ordinary, unfluent, and with a strong accent.

Milo smiled and shook his head and said, "Ha, that's normal. Apart from those who study languages, not many people can speak languages ​​other than their mother tongue fluently. For example, I can't speak French at all."

After the greetings, the negotiations officially began.

"Mr. Chevalier, Mr. Baptiste tell me, do you want to know my plans for the future of LVMH?"

Milo said to him with a smile after taking a sip of coffee.

Alain Chevalier concentrated, although it didn't matter whether he knew it or not.

What he wants most is to return to LVMH and get rid of Bernard Arnault.

But of course he couldn't say that openly, Alain Chevalier said seriously:

“Yes, although I am not a shareholder of the company and have been kicked out, I have spent a lot of energy and effort to develop LVMH Group to this point. It is like my child. Even though it is not my own, I still sincerely hope that it can have a bright future.”

Milo doesn't care whether Alain Chevalier's feelings for LVMH are genuine or not.

He has always been results-oriented.

As long as the result is good, it doesn't matter whether Alain Chevalier's feelings are real.

Milo shrugged and said:

"Mr. Chevalier, if that's what you think, then my acquisition is the best way out for LVMH."

Seeing that Alain Chevalier didn't say anything, he pretended to listen.

Milo continued: "I am very optimistic about the future of the luxury market...oh, you French people like to call it the boutique market. Although LVMH is now a giant in the industry, there are still many strong competitors."

“For example, after the merger of LVMH, the Pernod-Ricard Group, which was formed by the merger of Pernod and Ricard, is also very strong.”

"There are also the Castel Group, L'Oréal France, Lifeng Group, etc."

“How long do you think it will take for LVMH to completely surpass these companies and firmly dominate the luxury goods market?”

"Also, as far as I know, LVMH's share price has fallen by about 30% since last year. Don't you think Bernard Arnault did something wrong?"

Between 1997 and 1998, LVMH was facing an economic crisis and its competitors were expanding rapidly.

Under such double pressure, LVMH's shares fell 38% in just four months.

It has only fallen by 30% now, so there is still at least 10% or so left to fall.

This is also the reason why Milo set his sights on LVMH.

It can almost be said that this is the most difficult period for LVMH Group.

After surviving this disaster, Bernard Arnault will soar to the sky.

At that time, it was not clear whether the acquisition would be successful.

The cost alone is incomparable to what it is now.

Faced with Milo's question, Alain Chevalier remained silent.

Milo smiled and continued, "I know you have higher expectations for LVMH and don't want to just do business for men, so you took the lead in acquiring the perfume sales business of the Boussac Group. Compared with the wine industry, the profits and markets of luxury goods and cosmetics are higher, but how long do you think it will take to surpass giants such as L'Oreal Group and Hermès?"

Alain Chevalier's expression became solemn again, but after hearing this, he felt a little excited. Could it be...? Sure enough!

Milo's next words confirmed his guess, and one explosive piece of information after another bombarded his psychological defenses.

“The reason why Paladin Investment wants to acquire LVMH is for these goals. LVMH must become the overlord of the boutique industry!”

"Acquiring LVMH is just the first step. I am also currently acquiring an Italian boutique company, which is already halfway to success."

“The first thing we did after acquiring LVMH was to lead the merger of the two companies.”

"Perhaps you have heard of this company? Gucci Group, 53% of its shares are now mine."

"After the two companies merge, you will be the president of the company. I believe in your ability. I don't have the energy and time to run a company myself. I have too many things to do. I am not Bernard Arnault."

"According to my plan, LVMH Group has to acquire at least 20 luxury brands. As my president, you don't have to worry about the funds. I can take out billions to tens of billions of dollars in funds within a week!"

"I never cared much for boasting!"

After saying this, Milo calmly picked up the coffee and took a sip to moisten his throat, quietly waiting for Alain Chevalier to react.

After suddenly receiving such a huge amount of information, I really need to calm down.

But Alain Chevalier is already in his sixties.

He has also experienced ups and downs in politics and business.

Faced with the pie that Milo had drawn that was within reach, he still couldn't calm down in such a short period of time.

This pancake is so real and so delicious! The key is that Milo can probably really make it.

Because he is the richest man in the world, Forbes said that his net worth is more than 100 billion US dollars! What does 100 billion US dollars mean? According to the current exchange rate, it is about 700 billion to 800 billion francs! France's GDP last year was only 1.61 trillion US dollars. The wealth of this young man alone is equivalent to about 8% of France's GDP last year.

a long time……

Alain Chevalier took a deep breath and suppressed the last bit of turmoil in his heart.

I solemnly asked the most critical question: "Mr. Blackburn, how long do you plan to complete these plans?"

Milo raised his lips slightly, looked at Alain Chevalier, and then said:

"It is October 25th now, and there are only 66 days left until 1998. I hope that within the next year, through a series of acquisitions, LVMH will become the world's leading luxury goods company. If we can complete it earlier, such as in half a year or three months, that would be even better. We will have more time to slowly integrate and consolidate our market position."

"Mr. Chevalier, how about you taking part in all this?"

Alain Chevalier was silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly, spread his hands and said, "Mr. Blackburn, I can't seem to find a reason to refuse."

Milo smiled and held out his hand.

Alain Chevalier stretched out his hand and shook it with Milo.

"Welcome to join us!"

"It's my pleasure!"

After putting down his hand, Alain Chevalier suddenly showed an embarrassed expression, as if he wanted to say something.

Milo took the initiative to ask: "Alan, can I call you that? Is there any difficulty?"

Alain Chevalier nodded slightly, took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Blackburn, I have something to say, which involves my principles and professional ethics."

"Speaking!"

Milo smiled and gestured for invitation.

"Although I made LVMH successful, the Moët family also made me successful. The main reason why I did not refuse Mr. Baptiste's request to meet you was because of the Moët family's attitude towards the company. They are not interested in running the company. They value money more. This is why the Moët family asked me to run the company in the first place."

"And after I was forced to leave, Bernard kicked them off the board. They only received dividends in one year out of ten. They were also very dissatisfied with Bernard."

"And the Hennessy family too."

"so!"

He looked at Milo seriously: "I hope I can come out and negotiate with these two families. Let them sell the stocks to you."

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

This is the token of allegiance.

Alain Chevalier was ready to help Milo take over the shares of the two families.

In exchange for Milo's true trust in himself.

And Alain Chevalier is confident of this.

Because apart from the Vuitton family, the other two families began to be uninterested in Bernard Arnault ten years ago.

In 1987, after the successful merger of LVMH Group.

The infighting among the three founding families and Alan began.

But later, in order to strike back at Chevalier, Henri Ricamier (Henri Vuitton's son-in-law) brought in Arnault to invest - he wanted to find a helper for himself, but in the end it turned out to be "letting a wolf into the house".

In the end, including Henry Rigamir, Alan and other families, were all kicked out of the board by Bernard...

Bernard Arnault is a man with a strong desire for control and ambition, so after the company stabilized, he began to use dividends and other funds to increase his stake little by little and place people in the company, with the aim of competing for the management rights of the LVMH Group.

Alain Chevalier and his men were actually defeated generals.

So he hoped that Milo would buy out the shares of several other families and get rid of Bernard Arnault!

Among the three families, it is hard to say about the Vuitton family because Bernard Arnault has been giving concessions to them.

But the other two families are absolutely 100% willing to support the expulsion of Bernard Arnault.

So Alain Chevalier dared to issue this military order and fulfill this pledge of life! Milo smiled and nodded and said, "Of course no problem. That's why I asked someone to find you, dear Alain, I hope you can really do it. This will help both of us."

Alain Chevalier breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appeared on his face, and he readily agreed: "Mr. Blackburn, please wait and see."

Milo chuckled and said, "I believe in your ability!"

…

After securing Alain Chevalier, BNP Paribas' acquisition team went straight to the Moët family.

The Moët family urgently sought help from Alain Chevalier to discuss countermeasures.

The latter was very smart and he knew the character and temper of this family very well.

Alan did not express his opinion, but objectively analyzed the pros and cons, increasing their disgust for Bernard Arnault.

The decision will then be handed back to the Moët family.

BNP Paribas also made full use of its resources, starting with other industries of the Moët family.

In particular, we are exchanging resources in areas that the current head of the Moët family is interested in, and the price is also very generous.

Therefore, the Moët family readily agreed to transfer the equity.

Paladin Investment also used the franc offensive to gradually break down the psychological bottom line of the Hennessy family, and transferred the equity to Paladin Investment without notifying anyone else.

After a week of action, Milo's second phase of the offensive achieved the expected results.

Except for the Vuitton family, who have close ties with Bernard Arnault.

The other shares were difficult for Milo.

First, the Hennessy and Moët families held 8.5% and 8% of the shares respectively.

In addition, there are 31.3% of shares transferred in the secondary market, banks and institutions.

Milo now owns 47.8% of LVMH.

In terms of proportion, it has exceeded Bernard Arnault and the Vuitton family's 43%.

However, there is a problem: the Vuitton family and Bernard Arnault only hold 43% of the shares.

But their voting rights are as high as over 65%, so some auxiliary means are needed to force the palace.

This is why Milo made a large-scale acquisition and took over the debt of LVMH Group.

So now, in addition to these stocks, Milo also holds about 50% of LVMH's foreign debt.

Moreover, these are all corporate bonds that have little interest and are due within six months or one year.

This part is almost as high as US$2.5 billion, plus the acquisition of 47.8% of the shares at a premium cost of US$3.35 billion.

To date, Milo has spent nearly $5.9 billion on LVMH.

But it's all worth it, because it will soon allow him to own a luxury goods giant that is currently the third largest in the world and has unlimited potential.

…

In the Paladin Investment conference room.

Milo, Andre, and the acquisition team gathered together.

Andre updates Milo on the latest developments.

The continuous success and absolute advantage made Andre very happy, and his voice of reporting became much lighter.

"Boss, the combined equity of LVMH held by our company, Blackburn Bank, and BNP Paribas has now reached 48 percent."

“There is only a small portion of the market left that is held by retail investors.”

"But Bernard Arnault has obviously noticed something is wrong. He asked BNP Paribas to disclose its stake in LVMH."

"According to French financial regulations, they need to publicly disclose their equity by tomorrow at the latest..."

After listening to Andre's report, Milo nodded slightly, glanced at everyone's faces, and praised: "Thank you all for your hard work during this period!"

"With everyone's joint efforts, this acquisition is about to succeed."

"Early tomorrow morning, we will take back all the shares held by Blackburn Bank and BNP Paribas, and then disclose it publicly. After the disclosure, we will directly apply for a trading suspension as the largest shareholder and on the grounds that the outstanding shares are less than 25%. At the same time, we will arrange for someone to enter the LVMH Group to take over."

"If Bernard Arnault and the Vuitton family use their voting rights to refuse, we will appeal to the French government and ask them to repay the corporate bonds within a deadline!"

"Andre, you will be responsible for grouping the personnel present and replenishing them in time if there is a shortage of manpower. We must act on time tomorrow."

"This is our first game in Europe, I hope we can win smoothly? Understand?"

When saying the last sentence, Milo deliberately raised his voice and swept his sharp eyes towards everyone.

Everyone present raised their heads and chests and responded loudly: "Understood!"

"Does anyone have any questions?"

Milo asked again.

After looking around and finding that no one expressed their opinion, he directly announced the adjournment of the meeting.

"If not, then adjourn the meeting!"

After saying that, Milo walked out of the meeting room at a steady pace.

Once I arrived in Paris I was busy for several days.

Now that he has finally reached the last step, he will have a good time in Paris.

After he left, Andre began to refine the work...

(End of this chapter)