When you’re a conglomerate as large as LVMH there are always going to be rumours surrounding you, and the latest suggests that the company is considering a takeover of Swiss-based luxury holding company, Richemont. The news was reported by Swiss newspaper, Finanz and Wirtschaft, whose sources were cited as “whispers behind closed doors.”

The reason for this is CEO, Bernard Arnault’s, desire to acquire Cartier, which is currently owned by Richemont. 

Richemont isn’t some struggling competitor, they are the fourth-largest luxury company in the world by market cap. Their portfolio includes 26 maisons including IWC, Panerai, Vacheron Constantin, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Chloé with a market capital of $87.14 billion USD. 

The rumour has suggested that LVMH would desire to strengthen both its jewellery and horological businesses. This takeover would have competition watchdogs all over it and may even prevent something like this from happening. 

Founder of Richemont, South African businessman, Johann Rupert, has strongly opposed any suggestion of a takeover in recent years. Instead, he has solidified his stake in the company by appointing one of his three children, Anton, to the board. 

As all associated companies have refused to comment on the rumours, we may not know if this is true until it happens. We will keep you posted. 

For more fashion news, check out Daniel Lee’s Burberry debut.