The luxury goods group Richemont continues to oppose the demands of the activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners in the run-up to the general meeting. In particular, Richemont is opposed to the election of Francesco Trapani, former boss of competitor Bulgari, to the board of directors of the group.
Trapani is not suitable for the election as the independent representative of the A-shareholders, said the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Johann Rupert, in a speech to the group’s shareholders published on Monday. Trapani has too close ties to the LVMH Group and its main shareholder. From 2011 to 2019 he held important positions in the French luxury goods group.
The board cannot support the election of a board member who has ties to one of the Richemont Group’s main competitors, Rupert said. He also believes that Bluebell, with its “relatively small stake” in Richemont, is not legitimate to represent the A shareholders on the board.
At the Annual General Meeting on September 7, holders of A shares in the Richemont Group can elect a representative to the Board of Directors for the first time. Bluebell-Capital proposed Francesco Trapani, while Richemont sees Wendy Luhabe, who has already been elected to the board, as the representative of the A shareholders. An election is announced.
In the run-up to the general meeting, Bluebell also called for the company’s articles of association to be changed so that the minimum number of board members would be increased from the current three to six. In addition, representatives of the A and B shareholders should be equally represented on the board. That would mean a weakening of the influence of the B shareholders around the Rupert family, which holds the majority of the votes in the group.
Because the manufacturer of Cartier jewelery and watches from brands such as A. Lange & Söhne or IWC has been in charge of the family around President Johann Rupert since it was founded. Their B shares make up 10 percent of the total capital, but Rupert controls 50 percent of the votes through corresponding rules in the articles of association. In total, the share capital consists of 522 million registered shares each of classes A and B. The former have a nominal value of 1 Swiss franc each, the B shares only 10 centimes. (dpa)