Nonetheless, that is how Hermès is seeking to portray LVMH, as it seeks to fend off Arnault's advances, in part, through the creation of a holding company that locks up a 51% controlling stake and makes a takeover of the company virtually impossible.
As a consequence BSkyB would be required to make a takeover offer to the public minority of Sky Deutschland in accordance with relevant German legislation.
That sentiment is precisely what prompted the state to make a partial takeover of the district six years ago.
Trilogy, which is trying to make a hostile takeover of Chapters, bid 17 Canadian dollars ($11.25) a share for Chapters on Saturday, up from a previous bid of 15 dollars ($9.93) a share to obtain a controlling stake.
Its strategy has been to make a creeping takeover of the company, purchasing options or shares in the open market and later announcing its new shareholding level in the company.
And in 2010, the Canadian government blocked mining firm BHP Billiton's $39bn attempt to make a hostile takeover of fertiliser firm Potash Corp.
Some British commentators allege that companies have taken over the role of government, creating a "Captive State" (in the title of a book by George Monbiot, a Guardian journalist) or have made a "Silent Takeover" of sovereignty (a book by Noreena Hertz, a Cambridge academic).
The Republican Presidential primaries, while lurching toward a conclusion, made a conservative takeover of the White House look more unlikely.
Roche, a Swiss pharmaceutical giant, now controls 454 Life Sciences, a gene-sequencing outfit, and recently made a hostile takeover of Ventana, a diagnostics firm.
Since then, however, healthcare costs have ballooned, and that makes a public takeover of the health insurance industry far more difficult.
