The on-off discussions between warring Gucci shareholders Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) and Pinault-Printemps- Redoute (PPR) appeared finally to be on course to some form of meaningful conclusion last week.

Ever since PPR snatched a 42% ‘white knight’ stake in the Netherland’s-registered Florentine fashion house from under the nose of LVHM in March 1999, the two sides have been at loggerheads. The manoeuvre was especially galling for the head of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, in that it diluted his own luxury branded goods empire’s stake in Gucci to around 20%. The situation has been the source of endless legal wrangling in the Dutch courts since, leading to what has become known as ‘The War of the Handbags.’

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