Did Morgan Stanley Produce Biased Research Report to Help Gucci?
Louis Vuitton (LVMH) vs Morgan Stanley Law Suit The LVMH suit against Morgan Stanley filed in France in May 2003, alleged that Morgan’s analysts, especially Claire Kent, favored Gucci, a Morgan Stanley investment-banking client and direct rival to LVMH. It asked for 100 million euros, about$118 million dollars. The plaintiff, LVMH, was owned by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, who was not a buyer (or seller) of Gucci shares. However, both Gucci and LVMH were involved in an acrimonious takeover battle during the period Morgan’s analyst issued the damaging reports. The chairman of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, battled for two and a half years to buy Gucci in the face of opposition from the company’s chief executive, Domenico De Sole. Morgan Stanley was an underwriter for Guccis 1995 IPO, and has assisted in transforming the company into a corporate conglomerate. LVMHs suit focused on the ratings published by Morgan Stanleys luxury goods analyst, Claire Kent, a winner of Institutional Investo
