The Hermès family is fighting against the French Association for Minority Shareholders (ADAM), who have protested the family’s attempts to group its shares into a nonlisted holding company. The family is sequestering its shares to protect its majority holding — just over 50 percent — from being chipped away by LVMH, whose surprise purchase of over 20 percent of the company late last year sent the family into a tizzy over the possibility of an unwanted takeover. However, the company’s minority shareholders teamed up with ADAM this week to complain that this would hurt their interests (it’s also an exemption to normal protocol). The Hermès family will hear none of it, though.
Hermès’ Anti-takeover Plan Hits a Snag
