The Independents, the Paris-based luxury marketing collective, is exploring a stake sale valued at over $1bn, hiring US investment bank LionTree to review options. The group counts Céline, LVMH, Saint Laurent and Cartier among its clients and operates roughly 20 creative agencies with 1,200 employees across London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Dubai.

The timing presents challenges: the luxury market has slumped sharply due to the Iran war's impact on Middle East markets and slowing Chinese demand. LVMH last week reported flatlining first-quarter 2026 performance, with like-for-like sales rising just 1% year-on-year. This downturn has complicated valuations across the high-end sector.

The company generated approximately £600m in revenues last year. It is owned by co-founders including Isabelle Chouvet, alongside media tycoon Stéphane Courbit's Banijay Group and private equity firm TowerBrook. Banijay holds an option to take control of the business by June, with RedBird IMI also involved in the current talks. Courbit and TowerBrook led a $400m investment round in 2023.