The long stretched legal battle between US-based jewelry brand Tiffany & Co and LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), one of the largest luxury brands is reportedly coming to a close after Tiffany reportedly agreeing to sell the brand for a slightly lesser price to Louis Vuitton.
Reports suggest that Tiffany’s board approved a less than 3 percent ($425 million) discount on the $16 billion takeover which will now be settled for $131.5 per share from the earlier set price of $135.
The truce brings closure to one of the largest acquisitions in the luxury market which was first finalized in November 2019.
The year-long legal battle began when the Paris-based luxury conglomerate decided to pull out of the deal citing the impending US tariff on French goods. In its statement to the public LVMH stated that a deal was not possible as the French government requested it to postpone the deal beyond January 6, 2021.
Meanwhile, the US-based jeweler sued LVMH alleging it to have inappropriately tried to renegotiate a deal that was long finalized in November 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged and adversely impacted countries and companies across the globe.
Louis Vuitton went a step further with a counter-suit that it was the American firm’s mismanagement amid the pandemic which has allowed it to reconsider the deal.
Earlier in October, the European Union antitrust authority green flagged the deal in principle citing that even though both brands have similar verticals, they did not trigger any anti-competition concerns. The deal has already been given green light by several antitrust authorities across the globe including the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment.
Both firms were to begin the court proceedings from January 2021 if the deal had fallen through.
