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Article: Arnault row may jeopardise Guinness deal
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- May 29, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1997 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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The proposed pounds 24bn merger between Guinness and Grand
Metropolitan was dealt a potentially fatal blow yesterday when a
simmering dispute between Guinness and the key shareholder, the
luxury goods group Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, broke into the
open.
Bernard Arnault, the LVMH chairman, who was the only member of
the Guinness board to vote against the merger, said the deal would
constitute a change of ownership of Guinness and therefore trigger
clauses in the joint venture arrangements signed between the two
companies three years ago.
Under those agreements, LVMH has the option to purchase, at net
asset value, Guinness's interest in all their existing joint
ventures if there is a change ...