Bluebell Capital has taken a stake in French luxury group Kering and is pushing for change, including looking at a tie-up with Cartier-owner Richemont, two sources close to the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Kering, whose fortunes are tied to its star label Gucci, which accounts for half of its sales and almost two-thirds of its operating profit, has come under pressure to diversify its revenue sources.

Kering shares traded up 7 percent on Wednesday after Bloomberg reported that Kering had met with executives from Bluebell and hired advisers to bulk up defences against the activist investor. Bluebell has a track record of lobbying for change at companies including Glencore, Bayer, Vivendi, Danone and Richemont.

Some change has already happened at Kering, said one of the sources, citing a reshuffle of the French luxury group’s top management aimed at reviving sales at its star label Gucci, announced late on Tuesday.

Kering declined to comment.

A potential tie-up with Richemont — the subject of speculation for years — would have a better chance than a previous overture rejected by Richemont two years ago, one of the sources said, citing a weaker position for Kering, following a decline in market capitalisation compared with Richemont.

Richemont, which is controlled by chairman Johann Rupert, last September rejected proposals by Bluebell to name its candidate Francesco Trapani, a former executive of rival LVMH, to represent holders of publicly traded A shares on the Swiss-based company’s board.

As for a potential tie-up with Kering, Rupert said in May that he said no to a merger two years ago.

Bluebell Capital Partners was launched in 2019 by Giuseppe Bivona and Marco Taricco, who saw an opportunity to bring shareholder activism — traditionally a predominantly North American phenomenon — to Europe.

by Silvia Aloisi and Greg Roumeliotis

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