The Arnault family, led by billionaire Bernard Arnault, is undertaking a significant reorganization of its holding company structure to reinforce its control over LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods group. The move, announced by the family holding company Christian Dior, aims to simplify and centralize the Arnaults’ ownership and ensure the continuity of family control over the €194 billion empire.

The plan involves merging two layers of family holdings into Christian Dior SE, which will then be renamed Agache and converted into a société en commandite par actions (SCA), a French joint-stock company structure commonly used by long-established families to maintain control across generations. This restructuring would centralize nearly 50 percent of the Arnault family’s shareholding and about 65.5 percent of its voting rights in LVMH within a single corporate entity. The SCA format also provides enhanced protections that make it highly difficult for external shareholders to challenge the family’s control or mount a hostile takeover.

Bernard Arnault, who is 77 years old and serves as LVMH’s chief executive, has spearheaded several moves in recent years to safeguard his family’s grip on the luxury group, which owns brands such as Louis Vuitton and Tiffany. In 2022, Arnault had already transformed a family holding into an SCA that requires unanimity and equal voting rights among his five children on major company decisions, a structure designed to prevent fragmentation of power and protect the group from dissolution.

All five of Arnault’s children hold various operational and board roles within the group and its holding companies, with one expected to eventually succeed their father. Arnault has publicly stated he does not intend to step down in the near future, though investor interest in succession plans remains keen.

Christian Dior noted that once the transaction is completed, control over LVMH will be exercised entirely within a single entity that has been listed on Euronext Paris for more than three decades. The family has already presented the restructuring plan to Dior’s board, and a shareholder meeting is scheduled for December to approve the changes.

The reorganization is viewed as the most substantial restructuring of the Arnault family’s holdings since 2022 and reflects ongoing efforts to insulate LVMH from potential external threats while preserving its long-term family governance.