Chapter 573: Gathering Family Members

"Charles, interested in selling your shares of Hermes to us? Five hundred million euros!" Delfina Arnault took a sip of her coffee gracefully.

"Since late last year, Hermes' stock price increased by 70%, though it dropped 20% afterward. Hermes' market value now exceeds 8 billion euros. My shares aren't insignificant," Charles shrugged after looking at Delfina Arnault. "But my shares won't significantly aid your acquisition of Hermes, and I support you. What's the difference if the shares are in my hands or LV's hands?"

Charles shook his head while speaking, "The current focus is on Hermes family members. As long as they unite and hold over 50% of the shares, they succeed. Hermes family has a much stronger advantage than Gucci's shareholders. They don't even need a white knight to win!"

Charles remembered, Hermes wasn't going to belong to LV in the future, a clear sign that LV's acquisition must have failed.

"Oh, there's one more thing I need to remind you," said Charles seriously.

"Oh, what is that?" Delfina Arnault asked, somewhat surprised.

"We've cooperated for so long in wine, champagne, clothing, jewelry, bags, perfumes, and watches; remember, Capet has a broad choice of luxury brands; no one dares to ignore Hollywood!"

"Son of Hollywood," Delfina Arnault sighed. She couldn't afford to disregard Charles Capet's views.

Capet Capital already held shares in Hermes, Bulgari, and Tom Ford. Charles could sell his LV shares anytime. Without Capet, LV would lose an excellent promotional channel.

The Devil Wears Prada boosted LV's clothing sales immensely, as she knew. If Capet ceased cooperating with LV, there were numerous other brands like Armani, Chanel, Versace, Tiffany, Gucci, L'Oreal, and Estee Lauder to choose from!

...

In the evening, Alexandra Daddario happily returned to Athena Plaza Hotel with bags full of items.

"How was the shopping?" Charles asked as he embraced and kissed her.

Alexandra Daddario couldn't stop nodding, "It was awesome!"

Charles held Alexandra Daddario, guiding her to the sofa, caressing her waist, "Rest for a bit, and then we'll go for dinner."

"Sure," Alexandra Daddario smiled at Charles, "I also bought some sexy lingerie today; I'll show you later!"

"Sexy lingerie," Charles' eyes lit up, then looked back at Alexandra Daddario in his arms.

At 24, standing 5'8", Alexandra Daddario was in her prime, with 36E cups, Charles' favorite!

"Hmm," Charles lowered his head and kissed her lips...

...

The three major Hermes families - the Dumas, Granet, and Puech families -gathered all 52 adult members with voting rights for an emergency meeting at an estate near the Arc de Triomphe.

Hermes initially passed down to the third generation of the old Hermes's three sons-in-law, Dumas, Granet, and Puech, but Puech didn't partake in managing Hermes. The primary operations were handled by the Dumas and Granet families!

This time, LV's hostile takeover put Hermes in great peril. To counter LV, they needed the family's united strength.

All 52 members left their electronic devices before entering the estate to prevent outside communication. Family leaders declared that no member could leave until they found a solution to Hermes' crisis!

LV had been coveting them, and the Hermes family members were determined this time, vowing never to let LV take over Hermes.

...

Three days later, Charles watched the live broadcast of the Hermes press release event in the suite of Athena Square Hotel!

Fifty-two members of the Hermes family discussed for three days in a meeting room near the Arc de Triomphe and, under the witness of a lawyer, established a Hermes Family Trust Fund to hold shares.

Family members collectively held a certain percentage of Hermes shares and locked a portion of them in the trust fund for 20 years, disallowing any sale within this period. If someone wanted to sell shares in between, they would need the consent of three-fourths of the family shareholders.

The remaining percentage of shares could be sold by family members for cash, but the family trust fund had the right of first refusal!

Charles watched the press release, stroked his chin, and said, "Well, LV can't do anything now. Arnault didn't believe they'd stick together. So quick to get a slap in the face!"

This ensured that the Hermes family members would control the Hermes group to the greatest extent.

In the office of Bernard Arnault at the headquarters of LV on Avenue Montaigne, Paris, Delphine Arnault and her brother Antoine Arnault watched the Hermes press release.

Although Delphine and Antoine Arnault were siblings and both competitors for the LV inheritance, their relationship was just so-so.

But Antoine Arnault was the eldest son, serving as the president of the Dior SE holding company and managing the men's clothing brands Loro Piana and Berluti.

Delphine Arnault was Dior's vice-president and personally managed Dior Perfume!

"Locking down a certain percentage of shares really is a solid move," Bernard Arnault had to admire the strategy, which involved shares held by fifty or sixty people all combined.

Did they really manage to work together?

Delphine and Antoine exchanged glances, knowing the plan to acquire Hermes had failed.

Although LV now owned more than 17% of Hermes' shares, the controlling stake was still with the Hermes family.

"Father," Antoine Arnault called.

"No matter, failure is just failure," Bernard Arnault waved his hand.

"Antoine, go see Mr. Bonneman from the Securities Commission. Hermes definitely won't let this go easily after our attack..." Bernard Arnault instructed his son, as there was a lot of insider trading with three investment banks in this deal.

Hermes would definitely apply for a Securities Commission investigation...

...

With the summer blockbuster season arriving, the strong performance of Avatar and the addition of Alice in Wonderland made Hollywood's spring box office performance quite outstanding.

Back in New York, Charles was most concerned not about big blockbusters like Thor 2 or Sherlock Holmes, but Capet Animation Studio's first feature-length animation, Despicable Me!

The annual Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York attracted countless female celebrities.

Charles attended the event with his mother, Evelyn Capet. This year's hosts were Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and top talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

Evelyn Capet had a good relationship with Oprah Winfrey.

"So, are you turning your attention to the fashion and luxury goods sector now?" Evelyn smiled, asking her son.

Charles smirked and scoffed, "Fashion is defined by us, the media group. If Hollywood says something looks good, it does. Look at this freak show; it's just for news buzz. Luxury goods have such high profit margins, we can't miss out!"

Evelyn whispered, "Do you have any brand recommendations?"

"Me? I'm not too familiar. Look for any brand with operational difficulties but still popular, just buy it directly," Charles advised his mother. "I've invested in Hermes and Bulgari through family funds, which are locked."

"Versace should be good; it's been around for nearly 20 years. Gianni Versace has been dead for over a decade. His sister Donatella Versace, now the creative director, hasn't done well lately. Versace hasn't been doing great these past few years!" Evelyn immediately thought of the Italian brand Versace.

"Versace, fine, but buying it from Donatella Versace and her brother Santo Versace won't be easy," Charles grinned. The Versace brand was founded by these three siblings, but the talented Gianni Versace was killed, halting the brand's progress.

It was a small brand, but Gianni Versace was well-known, keeping the Versace brand's reputation strong!

"Alright, I'll reach out to the Versace siblings," Evelyn made up her mind.

Charles then found out that many female celebrities related to him, like Anne Hathaway, Blake Lively, Kristen Stewart, Emma Roberts, Taylor Swift, and Britney Spears would attend the gala.

Charles walked the red carpet and planned to leave in under half an hour, before the banquet even started.

"Mom, I have to head to the Black Swan set; they wrap up today!"

*****

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