Johann Rupert, the controlling shareholder of Swiss luxury goods conglomerate Richemont, dismissed talk of a takeover by bigger rival LVMH or a combination with Kering SA.
The billionaire said he was in constant “friendly” dialogue with LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault, but the Cartier owner has no interest in a deal with the French company and isn’t for sale. He referred to the speculation as an “erroneous story.”
“We respect each other’s independence and I would think less of him if we didn’t have frank and candid conversations,” Rupert said of Arnault.
The comments mark the first direct response Rupert has given to talk of LVMH circling Richemont for a potential takeover following a report in Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft in February. Rupert said both he and Arnault want to make clear that this scenario isn’t correct.
Rupert, 72, has for years tried to convince investors that Richemont isn’t for sale, yet speculation continues to spring up as the question of succession planning grows. The company’s stock surged Friday on better-than-expected results, giving the luxury-goods maker a market value of almost 90 billion Swiss francs ($101 billion).
The Richemont chairman pointed to comments Arnault recently made in the media indicating that Cartier was not for sale.
Rupert also quashed talk of a potential tie-up with Gucci owner Kering. He said investment bankers had pitched a potential deal two years ago.
“For the record, we said no,” Rupert said on a call with journalists.
The South African businessman, a former investment banker himself, said Richemont would grow its own stable of brands and not look for big acquisitions.
“Why would we want to? We know what we have,” he said.
--With assistance from Angelina Rascouet.
