The move will allow the descendants of Thierry Hermes, a French saddlemaker who founded the company in 1837, to sell their shares without seeing them scooped up by LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault. The founding family owns more than 73 per cent of Hermes, whose handmade Birkin bags typically require waiting periods and five-digit price tags from clients. While the family's 60-plus members are said to sometimes have diverging interests, Sunday's move to create a majority holding "reaffirmed their unity" and was "irrevocable," according to a statement. In September, the hard-charging Arnault -- whose firm owns labels including Fendi, Marc Jacobs and Christian Dior -- shocked Hermes when he disclosed he had bought 17.1 per cent of the company and signalled he might enlarge his stake further. Arnault acquired his shares on the sly through the use of complex derivatives -- a maneuver that sparked an investigation by France's stock market regulator.
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