LVMH buys a key stake in another Italian success story, Moncler, and gains seat on board

LVMH has acquired a 10% stake in Remo Ruffini’s key holding company that controls luxe sportswearMoncler, granting the French conglomerate a major foothold in the brand and a seat on its board.

The deal marks the latest example of a major Italian fashion success story coming under the influence of a French luxury conglomerate. LVMH owns top Italian marques Fendi, Loro Piana and Pucci, as well as an important stake in Tod’s. It’s bitter French rival Kering owns Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Brioni in Italy too.
 
In a complicated and somewhat opaque deal, LVMH used a “special purpose vehicle” to purchase a 10% stake in Double R (the investment vehicle controlled by Ruffini Partecipazioni Holding) that owns a direct stake in Moncler equal to approximately 15.8%. The release did not reveal the size of its voting rights.

Under the terms of the transaction, Double R will increase its stake in Moncler up to a maximum of 18.5% through further purchases of Moncler shares over a period of approximately 18 months. The funding of such purchases will be provided by LVMH which will increase its investment in Double R up to a maximum of approximately 22%, the two groups announced in a joint statement released late Thursday.
 
“Moncler has been one of the most significant entrepreneurial success stories in the industry over the past twenty years. Remo Ruffini’s vision and leadership are remarkable, and I am delighted to invest in his holding company to reinforce his position as leading shareholder on Moncler and support the independence of the Moncler Group,” extolled Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH. 
 
However, his French conglomerate did not release any financial terms at all. Though, sources indicated it could be close to €300 million.
 
The release did sugarcoat this new partnership between Ruffini Partecipazioni Holding and LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group, as reinforcing Remo Ruffini’s position as the largest shareholder of Moncler. But clear-eyed observers will see it as the latest move into an Italian prestige marque by a French luxury baron.
 
Ruffini will continue to define and drive Moncler Group’s plans for future development and, as chairman and CEO, will remain fully committed to Moncler Group’s success. The LVMH Group, as stable long-term minority shareholder of Double R, will support the deployment of Ruffini’s future vision for the Moncler Group, the communique continued.
 
“The governance structure confirms Remo Ruffini’s sole control over Double R and provides, among others, for the right of LVMH to appoint two members to the board of Double R and one member to the board of Moncler,” the statement stressed. 
 
Founded in France in 1952 near Grenoble as a quilted jacket maker, Moncler gained a reputation for dressing high altitude mountaineers. Then won fame as an official supplier of the French winter downhill team in the Grenoble Winter Olympics of 1968. Acquired after flirting with bankruptcy by Ruffini in 2003 it was reinvented as a luxury label. By 2011, French group Eurazeo had bought a 45% stake in Moncler and 50% of its voting rights. Two years later it was floated on the Milan Stock Exchange, with an eventual valuation of €4 billion. 
 
Commenting on the deal, Remo Ruffini, Chairman and CEO of Moncler, said: “This partnership reinforces Double R’s position in Moncler and provides the stability needed to execute my vision for the future. I have long admired Bernard Arnault’s entrepreneurial spirit and unique understanding of the luxury sector, and I am delighted he so clearly supports my long-term ambitions for our group’s extraordinary brands.” 
 
Regarded as a brand building expert par excellence, Ruffini brilliantly raised Moncler’s profile with dramatic runway shows, and its multi-collab events with hip young designers in massive bashes called Moncler Genius. Though increasingly working with an oversized ego, most noticeably with a mass show in October 2022 of thousands of Moncler clad extras outside the Duomo of Milan, that had disturbing echoes of Fascist era rallies from the 1930s.
 
It has been widely rumored for several years that Ruffini has pursued talks with possible outside investors in Moncler. Several sources have informed FashionNetwork.com, that Ruffini even boasted of inking a deal with Kering three years ago. 
 
Now, Remo will go to his next Moncler Genius event in Shanghai this October, as the latest Italian satellite of Bernard Arnault.