Fashion billionaire Bernard Arnault invests in online auction site Auctionata

Bernard Arnault, Image courtesy of LVMH

Online auction house Auctionata has received financial backing from Groupe Arnault, the controlling shareholder of luxury giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chaired by Bernard Arnault. The undisclosed sum comes in addition to the $45 million of round C funding that the Berlin-based company received in April.

Arnault’s decision to back the company takes its total amount raised from investors since its inception in 2012 to approximately $95.7 million, according to The New York Times. “We are pleased to announce that Groupe Arnault, the controlling shareholder of French luxury group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has invested in Auctionata,” the company wrote on their Facebook page. “Another step towards becoming the global destination for livestream auctions.”

Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault is a French business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and art collector. He has been the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LVMH since 1989.