Richemont requests shareholders to vote against activist investor board candidate

Luxury group Richemont has requested for its shareholders to vote against a candidate backed by its activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners.

The request comes ahead of the group’s annual general meeting, set to be held on September 7.

Bluebell said it is hoping to gain a board seat for Francesco Trapani, the former head of Bulgari and the fund manager’s co-founder.

Additionally, the firm said that it wants Richemont to concentrate its efforts on jewellery and watches, suggesting that it could double its share price if followed through.

However, in a new statement to its shareholders, Richemont said: “After careful consideration, the board recommends to vote against the designation of Bluebell’s candidate as representative of the holders of ‘A’ shares, and against the election of that person to the board.”

Instead, the group has proposed independent director Wendy Luhabe to be the representative of those shareholders.

Bluebell has also stated that it wants to increase the number of board members at Richemont to six and to have an equal number of representatives of its ‘A’ and ‘B’ shareholders on the board.

Richemont has further recommended that shareholders are to vote against the additional proposed changes to the company’s articles.