Secret LVMH Pact Deepens Hermès Mystery

A previously undisclosed agreement involving LVMH has added another twist to a long-running dispute over billions of dollars in Hermès shares once owned by heir Nicolas Puech.

LVMH signed an agreement in 2002 to purchase Hermès shares linked to Puech and other family heirs through his wealth manager, Eric Freymond. The deal emerged as LVMH was quietly building its position in the French luxury house, years before its stake became public.

The documents also show that LVMH and the Arnault family holding company paid Freymond’s management firm at least $20 million in fees and commissions between 2001 and 2009. LVMH, however, says the 2002 agreement was never carried out and denies deliberately acquiring Puech’s shares.

Puech says he discovered in 2022 that his stake, once representing around 6 per cent of Hermès, had disappeared. At current market values, the holding would be worth about $10 billion. He has since launched legal action seeking €14 billion in damages from parties that may be held responsible, including LVMH and its chairman, Bernard Arnault.

The dispute has renewed attention on one of the luxury industry’s most closely watched corporate battles. LVMH eventually built a stake of about 23 per cent in Hermès before agreeing to unwind most of the holding in 2014.

French prosecutors are still examining what happened to Puech’s shares. The case now places fresh focus on the complex ownership structures and private arrangements that can shape control within Europe’s largest family-led luxury groups.