. Speaking of which, Barnier also has his own unique qualities—after all, no matter who or how, securing a billion-dollar gift from a super-rich individual requires exceptional skill.
Barnier, on the other hand, is a master of socializing, easily gaining the favor of influential figures.
His long list of friends is said to include French President Mitterrand, Sagan (author of "Bonjour"); Salvador Dali; Beckett (author of "Waiting for Godot"); the Princess of Monaco, and others.
Johnny Depp, known for his difficult nature in the media, said of Barnier, "The photos he takes are the most honest photos of me—unstaged and completely unguarded."
Depp even asked Barnier to be godfather to his daughter, and his wife even allowed him to photograph her breastfeeding their daughter.
Furthermore, Barnier is the companion of many French noblewomen
, including renowned female artists who helped him rise to prominence and one of the 20th century's most celebrated female art patrons.
In France's vibrant salon culture, nearly all the famous hostesses knew Barnier—Lillian Bettencourt was one of them.
From the moment she met him, Lillian lavished him with gifts: a Picasso painting hung on her living room wall, a private tropical island, a massive insurance policy with Barnier as the beneficiary, and properties around the world.
Finally, Lillian even said that, aside from the L'Oréal and Nestlé shares she had promised to her only daughter, everything else would be left to Barnier.
This clearly demonstrates Lillian's deep affection for
Barnier. While this scandal was a problem for the Bettencourt family, it presented Barron with a golden opportunity for Gucci-Hermès to seize control of L'Oréal.
The agreement between L'Oréal and Nestlé prevented Nestlé from freely selling its shares until 2014—during which period, either the Bettencourt family or Nestlé would have the right of first refusal.
Therefore, if Gucci-Hermès were to acquire Nestlé's L'Oréal shares before then, the Bettencourt family would have the right of first refusal to acquire Nestlé's L'Oréal shares—unless the other party renounces this right.
While Liliane Bettencourt appears to be in a precarious position, the fact that she was able to reach such an agreement with Nestlé in 2004 suggests that acquiring L'Oréal's shares under her control would be highly unlikely. However
, Liliane's daughter, Françoise Bettencourt, is a different story. It's clear that her primary focus isn't on L'Oréal. In fact, since Liliane's father's death, L'Oréal's management has been primarily responsible for its operations, with the Bettencourt family merely holding the largest stake to guarantee family ownership.
Compared to Liliane, Françoise is more likely to be willing to compromise.
Considering Barron's recollection of his past life, Françoise, claiming her mother's poor mental health and susceptibility to negative influence, petitioned the courts for guardianship of Liliane Bettencourt, successfully obtaining her consent in 2011—this means that from that point on, Françoise controlled the decision-making power over the Bettencourt family's shares in L'Oréal.
Given Françoise's lack of interest in business, it's highly likely that Gucci-Hermès would gain control of L'Oréal. However
, it seems unlikely that would occur until after 2011 at the earliest...
"We can preemptively lock in Nestlé's shares through an equity swap, provided we can convince Nestlé..." Ashley Weber, head of William Weber Capital, told Barron's on the phone.
The previous acquisition of Hermès was facilitated through Ashley, and she's very familiar with some of these methods.
The so-called equity swap, translated as a share swap, was actually used by LVMH in its acquisition of Hermès in the original universe. At
the time, LVMH and three investment banks signed separate equity swap agreements for Hermès.
The agreement stipulated that if Hermès' stock price reached a certain level by the specified date, LVMH would purchase the shares held by the investment banks. If it didn't, LVMH would not purchase the shares, but would pay a fee. However,
LVMH's primary reason for using this method to acquire Hermès shares was to avoid alerting the company and circumventing the requirement to publicly raise its stake if it held more than 5% of Hermès shares.
Later, Hermès filed a complaint with the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office over LVMH's acquisition of shares, accusing LVMH of increasing its 12% stake in Hermès through unconventional means such as "insider trading," "collusion," and "stock price manipulation," and demanding that LVMH divest the acquired shares.
Baron and his team could now leverage a stock swap agreement to lock in Nestlé's L'Oréal stake in advance. They could sign an agreement with Nestlé, granting them the right to acquire Nestlé's L'Oréal stake at a specified price after a certain period of time.
This would allow Baron to exercise this option and directly purchase Nestlé's L'Oréal stake, assuming he secures the Bettencourt family's support, or even after 2014.
Of course, he would have the right to withdraw from the purchase at that time, but would have to pay Nestlé a fee.
In essence, this is a bet-on-a-bet arrangement.
The question now is: how can they convince Nestlé to sign such an agreement?
Even if the other party was willing to reach an agreement, the purchase price and term would still require negotiation.
"Okay, you can contact Nestlé and see what their stance is."
The impending subprime mortgage crisis presented Barron with a good opportunity, and he decided to try to negotiate with the other party.
"Your Highness, here is a list of people in the office who are more experienced in the business. You can choose from them..."
After Barron finished his call with Ashley Webb, his personal assistant, Wang Wanting, handed him a folder and said.