French luxury products group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton said Monday it has signed an exclusive agreement with Dutch investment company Egeria to acquire Royal van Lent, the Dutch designer and builder of luxury custom mega-yachts sold under the Feadship brand.

The talks with owner Egeria, a Dutch investment firm, are based on an acquisition price worth approximately 11 times net profit. The estimated price equates to a transaction value of less than 500 million euros, a source familiar with the talks said.

This acquisition will enable LVMH to enlarge its scope of activities and to expand its presence in products and services at the top of the luxury market.

Royal van Lent’s yachts target an ultra-exclusive clientele and are built to the highest quality standards using specific know-how. Feadship’s attributes of creativity, craftsmanship, innovation, quality and exclusive positioning are shared by all the luxury businesses operated by LVMH.

Founded 160 years ago, Royal van Lent enjoys a leading market position. It designs and builds custom mega-yachts under the Feadship brand, one of the most exclusive and prestigious brands in the world for motor-yachts measuring over 50 meters.

The custom-built ultra-luxury mega-yacht sector offers strong global growth prospects. By targeting exclusively ultra-high net worth individuals, Royal van Lent offers an outstanding growth opportunity that is resistant to economic cycles. Since 2000, the worldwide order book for custom-built luxury yachts measuring over 50 meters has grown by more than 20% per annum.

Those luxury watch sell for an average 30 million euros ($44 million) each. (source)

Le Coffret de Victoire Collection for Dior, released a few months ago, has some of the most unusual and original rings crafted from the finest gems, ores and materials.

Created by designer Victoire de Castellane, the collection includes rings with skulls, cameo rings, floral rings and even a food dog on a pillow as well as an angler fish. Those sealife creations perfectly match a nautical summer ! (iconique)

After 14 years spent designing costume jewellery for Chanel with Karl Lagerfeld, Victoire was appointed in 1998 by Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, as designer of the first ever collection of Fine Jewellery for the house of Dior.

Her creativity is enhanced by using precious stones she is so fond of since her childhood days when she used to play with her grandmother’s jewels.

You can visit Dior website to see the entire collection.

LVMH, the world’s leading luxury group, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire the Hublot group, a top of the range watchmaker enjoying very strong growth.

LVMH will acquire Hublot from Mr Carlo Crocco, who founded the group in 1980, and a company controlled by Mr Jean-Claude Biver, who has managed Hublot since 2004.

Faced with surging demand, France’s champagne producers have decided on a very simple way to boost production by widening the vineyard.

A decision made by a French agricultural body on Thursday will allow producers to extend the area in which they are allowed to make the world’s most famous sparkling wine, until now restricted by a law dating back to 1927.

Sparkling white or rose wines are made in many parts of the world but only producers in a designated region of eastern France have the right to call their product champagne, under laws that establish it as a “controlled term of origin”, known under its French acronym AOC.

Following on from the highly successful Clos du Mesnil champagne Krug (LVMH) have released the Clos d’Ambonnay champagne from the 1995 vintage.

Like the Clos du Mesnil the grapes used in the Clos d’Ambonnay come from a single vineyard.

The vineyard used for Clos d’Ambonnay is located in Ambonnay in the Champagne area and will only produce 250 cases of the Champagne making it the most limited Krug available.

Dior’s new “Golden Skincare” line (L’Or de Vie translates to gold of life) was launched earlier this year. The reaction was immediate: stores on both sides of the Atlantic could barely keep the product in stock. With L’Or de Vie, Dior has taken anti-aging skin care to royal standards. The line is a partnership with Château d’Yquem (creators of the most mythical wine in the world) to create a wine-inspired line of pure luxury.

Dubbed “a skin care miracle”, the secret behind this wonder skin care line resides in Dior’s well-guarded formula. L’Or de Vie is the result of the extraction and transformation of vital ingredients found in certain types of vines that have the power to regenerate and improve year after year. Dior has captured these regenerative properties and has packaged them into skin care technology.

L’Or de Vie rejuvenates, re-stimulates, re-hydrates the skin and protects skin against external free-radicals. You’ll feel the difference from the first application of the skin care duo.

L’Or de Vie can be part of your regime as early as in your 30s as a prevention and rejuvenation treatment. More mature skin types will see the benefits of L’Or de Vie for its ability to re-stimulate the cells.
L’Or de Vie is a two-part treatment – L’Extrait Serum is followed by La Crème (intensive cream). L’Extrait is a pure antioxidant concentrate that acts like a veil on the skin, providing it with radiance, suppleness and elasticity. La Crème is an intensive formula that combines the antioxidant power of L’Or de Vie with Dior’s age-defying know-how. Although La Crème is very intensive, it can also be used by combination skin types.

L’Extrait sells for $420 for the 15-ml/0.5 oz. bottle and La Crème retails for $380 for the 50-ml jar. You’ll find this golden line at Holt Renfrew stores across Canada.