Late last week, French billionaire Bernard Arnault bought a 5 percent stake in the publicly-traded shares of Lagardere, signaling the strength of his commitment to supporting ceo Arnaud Lagardere as a majority of shareholders seek to shake up the board and management of the company. Earlier this year Arnault helped shore up Mr. Lagardere financially, acquiring a 25 percent stake in the privately-owned holding company that controls Lagardere. A Vivendi spokesman said the firm was “very happy” that Bernard Arnault had become a direct Lagardere shareholder, Reuters reported. (This will only fuel speculation from earlier this year that the ultimate […]
