Richemont executive buys shares worth $248 mln

A senior executive at Richemont has bought 245.8 million Swiss francs ($247.6 million) worth of shares in the luxury goods group since May 22, filings on the SIX Swiss stock exchange website show.

A Richemont representative was not immediately available to comment, but two analysts said that the group’s controlling shareholder and chairman, Johann Rupert, is likely to have been the buyer.

“Given its size, we believe that only Johann Rupert has the necessary firepower to carry out such a transaction,” said Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Jon Cox, adding that this was significant sign of confidence in the group.

He said the group’s jewellery business remained strong, its watch brands were being turned around and the fashion and accessories labels were moving closer to breaking even.

The stock exchange filings show that a Richemont executive bought 3,314,659 ‘A’ shares in nine separate transactions between May 22 and June 3.

Richemont’s share price has risen more than 9% since the company reported full-year results on May 17. It was up 1.7% at 1504 GMT.