London - Christie's International, the fine art auction house, is to be taken over by Mr Francois Pinault, one of France's most colourful businessmen. The move comes just two weeks after Mr Pinault snapped up a 29 per cent stake in Christie's from the Bahamas-based billionaire, Mr Joe Lewis.
His investment company, Artemis, yesterday launched an agreed bid to buy the remaining shares, with a 396p per share offer, valuing the group at £721 million.
