Richemont, the maker of Cartier jewelery, said shareholders should vote against the appointment of Francesco Trapani to the board as he is too closely associated with arch rival LVMH.
In a ratcheting up of the battle between the luxury group and activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners Ltd, which proposed the appointment, Richemont said Trapani is an “inappropriate candidate” and his election is not in the interest of the company.
The retailer also said it did not believe Bluebell, which has a relatively small stake, has “legitimacy” to represent the A shareholders, in a statement Monday.
Richemont Chairman Johann Rupert controls the high-end group through its B-class shares. The South African billionaire holds 10% of the company’s share capital and 51% of its voting rights, according to the company’s most recent annual report. The A shares are publicly traded and have a bigger economic interest but lower voting rights than Rupert.
Bluebell, which has a history of taking on large European companies, wants a representative for the A shareholders and proposed ex-Bulgari CEO Trapani, who led the Bulgari jewelry brand for nearly three decades until 2011 and was a founding partner of Bluebell in 2019.
© 2022 Bloomberg
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