Billionaire Pinault’s family office to cut 7.1 billion euros debt as fortune wanes
Artemis’ retreat follows a prolonged period of growth for the family
[PARIS] France’s billionaire Pinault clan is planning to pare debt and shun large deals after a surge in borrowing and decline in payouts from companies it owns.
The luxury-good family’s investment firm, Artemis, has seen debt soar about 40 per cent over historic levels to roughly 7.1 billion euros (S$10.7 million), according to a person familiar with its operations, who said its financing costs can still be comfortably met with dividends from investments. The person, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, did not give more details on how it plans to cut debt.
The firm’s retreat follows a prolonged period of growth for the family, whose patriarch, Francois Pinault, 89, founded what would become Kering more than six decades ago and went on to buy auction house Christie’s International, a football club, vineyards, media outlets, a cruise company and art.
More recently, they took a stake in Hollywood talent manager Creative Artists Agency (CAA), while Kering spent billions on commercial real estate, fragrance maker Creed and 30 per cent of fashion label Valentino.
The family’s fortunes have sputtered, with their net worth declining by more than half in the past four years, in part because of failed turnaround attempts at Gucci, owned by Kering.
The family office’s total earnings from payouts from its portfolio of assets are expected to drop by about 40 per cent this year to roughly 520 million euros, according to the person.
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Artemis’ holdings have a net asset value of around 28 billion euros, or about four times its own debt, according to the person familiar. Kering also has about 10 billion euros of borrowings, while CAA has about 2 billion euros, the person said.
Artemis plans to avoid large acquisitions on the scale of CAA, at least in the near future, the person said. The firm bought a 53 per cent stake in CAA in 2023 for about US$3.5 billion in a bet on the US and the talent-management industry. That holding is now up to 54.2 per cent.
Artemis’ debt load makes the vehicle relatively unusual among peers around the world, according to Citigroup Inc.’s 2025 Global Family Office Report. Among the 346 structures surveyed by the bank, half used no leverage at all and only 8 per cent of respondents had more than 30 per cent.
“Family offices’ mandates are typically to grow multigenerational wealth and to preserve capital,” the bank said in the report. “Performance is expected to come from strategic asset allocation and steady compounding rather than gearing up the portfolio.”
The Pinault family’s net worth peaked in August 2021 when demand for luxury goods surged, but has since declined by 58 per cent to about US$25 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The drop is the biggest over the period among the 500 people included in the global ranking.
That decline reflects the struggle at key assets owned by the family. Kering has slashed its payout to the Pinaults and other shareholders and its biggest brand, Gucci, is working to exit a downward spiral.
The family is counting on a new chief executive officer, Luca de Meo, to turn the business around. It is a similar case at sneaker maker Puma, in which Artemis owns a 29 per cent stake and where new boss Arthur Hoeld is overhauling strategy.
The Pinault clan’s plan to lower debt at Artemis mirrors a similar move at Kering, which was given a negative outlook by Standard & Poor’s in August. The ratings firm put the company’s net reported debt, including its leases, at about 14.5 billion euros over 2025 and 2026 and reiterated its investment grade rating. S&P stated that no “negative credit considerations” were expected to come from Artemis.
Debt has also risen at CAA in part due to “debt-funded” dividend payouts, according to a Fitch report in January. The ratings firm highlighted the risk of Artemis shareholder control “being exerted and the likelihood of larger debt-funded distributions in future,” though reaffirmed its ratings.
CAA has a leading position in the industry amid demand for top talent, especially in music and sports, and is planning to open an offshoot in London, a move that will be partly funded by new debt taken on this year.
CAA will likely report 2025 sales of about US$1.8 billion and a 27 per cent profit margin, said the person, adding that there’s no plan to push up leverage for debt-funded dividends.
Founded in 1992, Artemis is one of France’s oldest family offices and has Kering founder Francois Pinault and son Francois-Henri Pinault, 63, as co-managing partners. Two siblings and three members of the third generation are on the board.
Over the past half century the Breton patriarch, who left school at the age of 16, has used some of his wealth to amass one of the world’s largest contemporary art collections with some 10,000 works. The collection is held by the family’s ultimate holding company, Financiere Pinault.
In a recent filing, Artemis reported it paid a 2024 dividend of 250.2 million euros to Financiere Pinault, more than twice the amount from the previous year. The average payout ratio over the past five years is 25 per cent to 30 per cent, according to the person familiar with the matter.
In a major shift for the family, scion Francois-Henri Pinault relinquished his role earlier this month as Kering CEO after two decades at the helm. While he’s staying on as chairman, FHP as he’s known, is moving back to Paris from London and is expected to focus more on Artemis. BLOOMBERG
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