LVMH has become the first European company to reach a $500 billion valuation. The success of the luxury goods company has made its CEO Bernard Arnault, who controls roughly half of the company, the wealthiest person in the world. But the real treasure is the friends he made along the way, right? No. You don’t earn the nickname ‘The Wolf in Cashmere’ because you are good at making friends.

The lowdown

• 📈 LVMH becomes first European company to hit $500 billion valuation.

• 💸 First Republic suffered $72 billion of deposit flight in Q1, after the collapse of SVB.

• 🇰🇷 Netflix to invest $2.5 billion in South Korea to create content as K-entertainment takes off.

Featured stories

Getty Images receives takeover bid from who?

Getty Images has suffered a share slump since it went public via a blank cheque merger in 2022, but its share price has recently seen an increase. This is because little-known (even that may be overstating it) investor Trillium Capital has offered to buy Getty at $10 a share. Shares in the company surged when the offer was announced though they only reached $6.85, still well short of the purported $10 offer.

Trillium Capital is a small outfit based in Massachusetts and appears to have a modest 1.3 per cent stake in Getty. It does not appear to have finance or know-how. The bid, whether real or not, may cause investors and other bidders to give Getty shares a second look which would benefit Trillium Capital given its small stake but may also earn it a few questions from the SEC ($).

The content we're consuming today

• Odd Lots podcast: Here are the signs of a slow-moving credit crunch.

• The Economist podcast: Editor’s picks April 24th 2023.

• Vanity Fair: “F--k Him, He Loses”: The Inside Story of How Disney’s Attempt to Buy BuzzFeed Fell Apart ($).

Off-balance sheet items

• Check out this Solitaire-like spelling game. It’s probably not the next Wordle but it did significantly delay the writing of this newsletter – you were warned.

The bottom line