Taittinger, the French luxury goods group which owns one of the great champagne houses and renowned hotels, is effectively up for sale with a price tag of more than â,¬2-billion, it emerged on Monday.
The group, which can trace its origins to the 18th century when Benedictine monks made champagne in the region around Rheims and Epernay, said it had asked BNP Paribas and Rothschild to examine offers for its assets.
The group’s interests include chains of economy hotels such as Campanile as well as the luxurious Crillon in Paris and the Martinez in Cannes. It also owns Baccarat crystal and Annick Goutal perfumes.
Any sale was said on Monday to be far off, with the review process at an early stage, but a report in Le Monde says that discussions are far more advanced and that private equity groups such as Eurazeo, Apax, KKR and Carlyle have made approaches.
The Taittinger family, which owns 38% of the group and 54% of voting rights, now comprises 38 members of the third-generation dynasty. They are said to be keen to cash in their capital, as the shares have risen 44% this year, but differ on how to do it.
A shareholder’s pact with Albert Frère, the Belgian financier who owns 25 % of the group and 15,3% of Société du Louvre, the holding company managing its non-champagne assets, expires in a year’s time. He is said to be marshalling the family shareholders. One option Frère and the banks are considering is to sell just the champagne house, based in the Château de la Marquetterie near Epernay. But Bernard Arnault, head of LVMH, the bigger rival that owns Krug and Moët Chandon, is said to have walked away from the â,¬500-million price.
The champagne business spreads over 280 hectares. It produced 4,5-million bottles last year and has a cellar of 21-million bottles. About two thirds of the sales go overseas, with Britain the biggest foreign market. Turnover amounted to â,¬87-million last year.
The Société du Louvre, where the family owns 44% of the equity and 53% of voting rights, had turnover of â,¬739-million last year. Anne-Claire Taittinger, chief executive, has declared a strategy of expanding the hotels business, which accounts for more than 80% of sales and is the world’s eighth largest. – Guardian Unlimited Â