How the Arnault Family Plans to Simplify Its Control of LVMH

The Arnault family proposes to collapse the holding-company chain above LVMH into a single listed company named Agache. The goal is to make the family’s control structure more direct and durable—not to change who runs LVMH immediately. The transactions remain proposals subject to approval.56

How would the merger work?

First, Financière Agache would be absorbed by Agache. Agache would then be absorbed by Christian Dior, which would convert into a limited joint-stock partnership and take the Agache name. The surviving listed company would directly hold 49.76% of LVMH’s shares and 65.55% of its voting rights. That is the proposed company’s direct holding, not the Arnault family group’s entire LVMH position.569

The distinction matters: the family group’s overall holding is reported at 50.33% of LVMH’s shares and 66.27% of its voting rights. The restructuring is designed to consolidate the principal stake in one vehicle rather than transfer control away from the family.912

What changes for Bernard Arnault and succession?

Bernard Arnault would remain a managing partner and manager of the renamed holding company under the proposed structure. The merger concerns ownership above LVMH; it does not, by itself, replace him as LVMH chairman and chief executive.151

Making the control chain simpler may help preserve continuity when leadership eventually changes, but it does not identify a successor to run LVMH. The family’s stated aim is continuity of control, which is different from settling the company’s future executive leadership.26

What can Christian Dior minority shareholders do?

They would have two choices under the proposal: keep their shares in the listed company renamed Agache, alongside the Arnault family, or seek cash through a tender offer prompted by Dior’s conversion. The offer is proposed without a squeeze-out, so shareholders would not be required to sell simply because the offer takes place. Its final terms should not be treated as fixed yet.67

When could it happen—and does LVMH’s share price change the case?

The merger and conversion require approval by the relevant governing bodies and a vote at a Christian Dior extraordinary general meeting expected toward the end of 2026. The tender offer would follow as part of the proposed process; neither the vote nor completion should be treated as a done deal.67

The plan clarifies who would hold and vote the family’s controlling stake. It does not establish that LVMH’s share-price weakness caused the restructuring, or that simplifying the holding companies would reverse a decline in the stock.26