LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA isn't ready to sell its 17.1 percent in Hermes International SCA, Chief Executive Officer Bernard Arnault said in an interview with Le Figaro newspaper.
"I don't see how the head of a publicly traded company is qualified to ask an investor to sell his shares, " Arnault said, according to the French daily. Hermes family member Bertrand Puech yesterday called on Arnault to sell his stake.
We've taken a stake in Hermes for the long term, Arnault said. This operation is a completely amicable one, what's hostile is the demand that we sell our shares.
