Bernard Arnault, the head of the French luxury goods group LVMH, has washed his hands of Europatweb, his private internet investment vehicle, and has left its skeleton staff to wind down its remaining portfolio, according to senior bankers in Paris.

Europatweb, launched in 1999 with €500m ($442m) of Arnault's own money, was once the largest internet investment vehicle in Europe. At its peak, it had a portfolio of more than 40 investments and had lined up a multi-billion euro IPO in mid-2000. With the internet crash, several of its investments have collapsed and last year it slashed its staff to a handful who have been left to tidy up the portfolio. It has not made an investment since May 2001 and has no plans to make any more investments.