LVMH to buy majority stake in Rimowa

LONDON: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE agreed to take over suitcase maker Rimowa for 640 million euros ($716 million) and will put Alexandre Arnault in charge of the group’s first German asset, a sign that Bernard Arnault is expanding his offspring’s role in the luxury empire.

The world’s largest luxury goods maker is buying an 80 per cent stake from Dieter Morszeck, grandson of Rimowa’s founder, LVMH.

Morszeck will run the Cologne-based business alongside 24-year-old Alexandre Arnault, who gets his first big job at his father’s group. The acquisition is LVMH’s biggest since the 2013 purchase of cashmere maker Loro Piana.

Rimowa’s grooved aluminum suitcases have become a common sight in airport security lines, owned by celebrities including Will.i.am and Gwyneth Paltrow.