French Luxury Showdown: LVMH Faces Legal Battle with Hermès Descendant

LVMH has responded to the accusations of Nicolas Puechl, the heir of Hermès, who has filed a civil lawsuit against Bernard Arnault, his companies and the holding company, claiming billions of dollars in damages for the alleged appropriation of shares of the French maison. Through a statement, the group has flatly rejected any irregularity and has denounced the smear through “a clearly coordinated media campaign”.

The case revolves around Hermès shares belonging to one of his heirs, who in a recent interview with the newspaper L’Express claimed to have learned after the fact that his former wealth manager, Eric Freymond, had sold shares equivalent to 5.8% of the company’s capital without authorization. The disappearance of his fortune is being investigated in a criminal proceeding opened in France, following Freymond’s suicide last July.

The new allegations are connected to LVMH’s surprise entry into the capital of Hermès in 2010, through a complex maneuver of stock swaps with cash settlement, a financial operation that led to one of the most remembered shareholder battles in the sector. In 2014, the two companies reached an agreement that led to the distribution of the stake among LVMH shareholders, putting an end to the confrontation.

In its statement sent Wednesday, the French conglomerate stressed that it is “accustomed to unfounded criticism from detractors or individuals seeking to capitalize on its notoriety”but that the recent avalanche of information forces it to respond to “avoid false interpretations” on the operation carried out more than fifteen years ago.

LVMH and Hermès staged one of the most important shareholder battles in the sector in 2010

“LVMH and its shareholder firmly reiterate that they have never, at any time, diverted shares in Hermès International nor do they hold hidden stakes,“ the company said. The group also recalls that the heir had already been dismissed several times by the Swiss justice system in its attempts to link the case to movements of Arnault’s hólding.

The heir played a central role during LVMH’s 2010 offensive by being the only family member to refuse to join the pact to pool shares in an unlisted company. That agreement was designed to shield Hermès against an eventual takeover of the luxury giant.

The lawsuit filed now reopens an episode that had been closed since 2014, although this time the focus is not on LVMH’s strategy, but on the actions of the heir’s wealth manager and the loss of his securities. The civil proceedings and the ongoing criminal investigation are progressing in parallel.

LVMH, for its part, has warned that it “reserves the right to take any necessary measures” to defend itself against the accusations and protect its reputation. According to the group, the information disseminated in recent days seeks to rewrite the facts and associate the conglomerate with a disappearance of assets that it attributes exclusively to the actions of the Swiss manager.

LVMH closed the first nine months of 2025 with a turnover of €58.09 billion, 4% less than in the same period of the previous year and an organic decline of 2%, after registering in the third quarter an increase of 1% driven by the improvement in Asia and the pull of Sephora. The fashion and leather goods division, where Fendi is integrated, reduced the decline to 2% organic in the quarter and reached €27.61 billion through September.