Richemont revives warrant scheme and conditional capital increase

Richemont will go ahead with its plan to issue warrants to shareholders which can be traded or eventually used to acquire new shares, the luxury goods company said on Friday.

The owner of Cartier will hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on Nov. 17 to approve the creation of up to 22 million shares, which could be acquired after three years in exchange for the warrants.

The luxury group, which also owns Piaget, IWC and Vacheron Constantin watch brands, suspended its plans for a shareholder scheme in September as it considered simplifying its stock structure.

Richemont had proposed the scheme to preserve cash during the Covid-19 pandemic after halving its dividend to 1 Swiss franc per share.

The revised terms of the warrants will be published on the company’s website on Monday, Richemont said.

The final terms of the warrants, including the exercise price, will be published after the EGM.