A long-running dispute between luxury giants LVMH and Hermès has taken a new turn after legal documents reviewed by Reuters revealed a previously undisclosed 2002 agreement under which LVMH agreed to purchase shares from Hermès heir Nicolas Puech and other family members.
The revelation comes as Puech alleges that his 6% stake in Hermès, now worth about $10 billion, disappeared through dealings involving his late wealth manager, Eric Freymond. LVMH has denied deliberately acquiring Puech’s stake against his wishes.
2002 agreement raises new questions
According to the documents, LVMH representatives and Freymond signed the agreement on November 12, 2002. It covered millions of Hermès shares and was negotiated while LVMH was secretly building its position in the rival company.
The documents also show that LVMH and the family holding company of chairman Bernard Arnault paid Freymond’s management firm at least $20 million in commissions and fees between 2001 and 2009.
LVMH has previously said that the 2002 agreement was never executed because it could not establish whether Freymond had authority to sell Puech’s shares. The company also said the agreement was destroyed in 2010.
Puech says his fortune disappeared
Puech says he discovered that his Hermès shares were missing only in 2022, after ending his relationship with Freymond. He filed a lawsuit in France last year seeking €14 billion in damages from parties who may ultimately be found responsible.
French prosecutors are separately investigating whether Swiss lawyer Alexandre Montavon participated in the alleged misappropriation of Puech’s shares for LVMH’s benefit. No criminal charges have been filed against Montavon in that investigation, and his lawyer has denied wrongdoing.
The fate of the shares remains unclear
The central question — whether Puech’s shares were ultimately transferred to LVMH and how that happened — remains unresolved.
LVMH accumulated as much as 23% of Hermès before agreeing to sell its stake following a 2014 settlement. The latest documents have brought renewed attention to the company’s earlier relationship with Freymond and the circumstances surrounding Puech’s missing fortune.
The legal and criminal investigations remain ongoing, meaning the precise chain of events behind the disputed shares has yet to be established.