Arnault takes stake in Carrefour

Bernard Arnault, France's richest man and chairman of luxury goods group LVMH, has taken a stake in French supermarket group Carrefour. Together with private equity firms Colony Capital and Axon Capital, Arnault has built up a 9.1 percent stake in Carrefour, taking the stock market by surprise. Their stake is valued at €3.4 billion.

Arnault and Colony have said that the investment is strategic and want to work with Carrefour owners the Halley family and management. Robert Halley is the new chairman of the supermarket group, replacing Luc VandeVelde who quit in January. Halley was previously a non-executive director.

There has been speculation that the Halley family want to exit Carrefour. The new move by Arnault and Colony might signify a changing of the guard. A source close to the Halley family told the FT that Arnault and Colony would likely have a large role in determining the company's future. The board continued to back Carrefour's chief executive José Luis Duran.