Months after the initial announcement that its Series C funding had closed but weeks after the sudden dismissal of large portions of its staff in Berlin and New York, the online auction house Auctionata makes available to the New York Times information on one of its investors.

Why? If it is simple PR, the news comes too late to blunt the mass layoffs. If Arnault is buying into the round late, can it be a substantial investment?

Arnault’s last foray into the auction world began with a bid for Sotheby’s and ended with Phillips.

Groupe Arnault, the controlling shareholder of French luxury group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, is investing an undisclosed sum in the online art auction site, Auctionata said Tuesday. It joins several other investors in this latest round of funding, at $45 million, which takes the total amount raised from investors to $95.7 million since Auctionata was founded in 2012.

Auctionata Announces New Backer  (NYTimes.com)