Editor’s Note
Tiffany & Co. and LVMH have reportedly agreed to a revised acquisition price, settling a legal dispute and moving the deal forward.
The American jewelry company Tiffany & Co. has reached an agreement with LVMH to lower the price of its acquisition by the French luxury goods group, a move aimed at ending a legal dispute between the two, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The sources told Reuters that the parties agreed to lower the acquisition price from $16 billion to $131.5 per share from $135 per share and that an announcement could be made again on Thursday that the purchase is still proceeding.
Representatives for LVMH and Tiffany declined to comment.
The new terms would mean a discount of $425 million for LVMH, led by billionaire Bernard Arnault, or less than 3% of the initial deal price.
when the French group said it could no longer complete the transaction by November 24th.
LVMH cited French political intervention asking it to delay the completion of the acquisition until January 6th due to the threat of new U.S. tariffs on French products, as well as what it described as the jewelry company’s poor performance during the COVID-19 crisis.
The two companies have been facing off in a Delaware court, with Tiffany trying to force LVMH to comply with the original agreement. The case is scheduled for early January.