Financière Agache SA is an investment

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

based in Paris that is the controlling shareholder of

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...

and

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

. It is controlled by Agache SCA, a company owned by

Bernard Arnault Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault (; born 5 March 1949) is a French businessman, investor, and art collector. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods company. Arnault is one of the richest individuals in the ...

and his family. Financière Agache acts as a

family office A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50–100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer ...

for the Arnault family and also holds a portfolio of diversified financial investments.

History

The origins of Financière Agache can be traced back to Agache-Willot-Boussac, a French group that dealt in retailing, fashion and manufacturing. Formed from a series of

mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

, it owned assets such as Dior, Conforama and Le Bon Marché. It also was close to bankruptcy in the early 1980s. In 1984, Bernard Arnault, then a young real estate developer had just returned to France from the United States and had heard that the French government was set to choose someone to take over Agache-Willot-Boussac. During his time in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, Arnault was neighbour to

John Kluge John Werner Kluge (; September 21, 1914September 7, 2010) was a German-American entrepreneur who became a television industry mogul in the United States. At one time he was the richest person in the U.S. Early life and education Kluge was b ...

who made billions by taking his company

Metromedia Metromedia, Inc. (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio station, radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in ...

private and then liquidating it and had also watched the success KKR had with its

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the acquisition of a company using a significant proportion of borrowed money (Leverage (finance), leverage) to fund the acquisition with the remainder of the purchase price funded with private equity. The assets of t ...

s. Arnault won the bidding war for Agache-Willot-Boussac using his family's money as well as backing by

Lazard Lazard Inc. (formerly known as Lazard Ltd and Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It i ...

. It was then renamed to Financière Agache. Financière Agache underwent significant restructuring. Arnault acquired the nickname 'The Terminator' after he laid off 9,000 workers in two years and sold most of the group's assets, with the exception of Dior. Using the profits from selling assets, Arnault helped bring

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...

and Moët Hennessy together to form LVMH. In 1989, using Lazard's help once more (which held 10% in Financière Agache at the time), Arnault and Financière Agache were able to gain full control over LVMH. Using Financière Agache as a platform, Arnault led an aggressive expansion to create the world's biggest luxury conglomerate. Brands acquired included Loewe,

Sephora Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products, offering nearly 340 brands alongside its own private label, the Sephora Collection. Its product range includes cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, nail color, beauty t ...

Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was d ...

, and Celine. Financière Agache also funded

Christian Lacroix Christian Marie Marc Lacroix (; born 16 May 1951) is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded. Lacroix's designs combine luxury and insouciance. He prefers artisanal trades, fringe, bead, and embroidery. He's ...

. Financière Agache was controlled by Groupe Arnault, a company owned by Arnault. In December 2020, Groupe Arnault changed it name to Agache. In July 2022, Arnault changed the legal structure of Agache from a

Societas Europaea A (, ; "European society" or "company"; plural: ; abbr. SE) is a public company registered in accordance with the European corporate law, corporate law of the European Union (EU), introduced in 2004 with the Council Regulation on the Statute ...

to a joint-stock partnership to ensure family control over LVMH in the long term. In June 2024, Frédéric Arnault was named managing director of Financière Agache.

Investment operations

Financière Agache issues bonds for financing and acquisition purposes. Since the 1990s, Arnault has invested in technology companies through his family office. These include

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

and

Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. ( , an abbreviation of its original name, "Air Bed and Breakfast") is an American company operating an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays, experiences and services in various countries and regions. It acts as a ...

. In January 2016, Catterton, LVMH, and Financière Agache partnered to create

private equity firm A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...

L Catterton L Catterton is an American multinational private equity firm. Founded in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1989, the fund has made over 250 investments in brands across all segments of the consumer industry. The firm is led by co-CEOs Michael Chu (privat ...

. Notable investment include Birkenstock,

Jio Platforms Jio Platforms is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational technology company, headquartered in Mumbai. It is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. Established in 2019, it acts as a holding company for India's largest mobile network op ...

and

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) is a holding company that is based in the United States and domiciled in Bermuda . It operates three cruise lines as wholly owned subsidiaries: Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas C ...

. In 2017, Aglaé Ventures was established as a

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

firm under Financière Agache. In May 2020, Financière Agache acquired 27% stake in Lagardère Capital, the personal holding company of Arnaud Lagardère. In September 2021, Financière Agache sold its entire stake for a 9.97% stake in

Lagardère Group Lagardère S.A. () is an international group with operations in over 40 countries. Based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, the group was founded and created in 1992 by Jean-Luc Lagardère under the name Matra, Hachette & Lagardère. Headed ...

. In April 2021, Financière Agache co-sponsored a

SPAC SPAC primarily refers to a special-purpose acquisition company, a method of taking a company public by merging it with an already public investment company. SPAC may also refer to: * Henry Crown Sports and Aquatics Center, a sports facility at No ...

named Pegasus Europe which raised €483 million. However a target could not be found and it was terminated in April 2023.

References

{{authority control Dior LVMH Conglomerate companies established in 1984 Conglomerate companies of France Family offices Financial services companies established in 1984 French companies established in 1984 Holding companies established in 1984 Holding companies of France Investment management companies of France