In a deal seemingly gone sour, both parties resort to legal action to resolve the impasse after LVMH decided to halt take over deal.
French luxury goods industry giant LVMH has stated that they will take legal action and sue Tiffany & Co, citing some unethical conduct in the proposed deal and poor management during pandemic throes. This comes a short while after Tiffany & Co had filed a lawsuit to sue the French conglomerate on the grounds of them stalling on the takeover deal, which went against their initial agreement. LVMH offered a press release statement on their official website concerning the matter.
LVMH had initiated a deal as from the previous year to purchase the American jeweler company Tiffany & Co. at a mega $16.2 billion that would have been the biggest deal ever in the luxury goods industry. The sale was to be protracted at $135 per share.
Later on, however, complications arising with the pandemic shaking up the economic landscape and the recent riots that have rocked the US have jumbled up the entire process. LVMH, which owns massive brands including Louis Vuitton and Dior, stated that they had received a precautionary request by the Ministry of foreign affairs in France concerning the deal. The request touched on issues such as tariffs imposed on French products by the US.
The deal includes a material adverse effect that can be activated if the business or company is purchased severely underperforms and takes a dip. This implies that the buyer can pull out of such a deal in such conditions. Tiffany claims that their potential buyers had tried for a while to manufacture this clause. There is speculation that LVMH chairman, Bernard Arnault, was looking for ways to renegotiate the deal.
LVMH stated in its press release that Tiffany had shown dishonesty in their dealings with them. They also claimed Tiffany's handling of the pandemic was poor and that the company had underperformed in financial reports. Tiffany, which has been hit hard as the luxury goods industry has as well during the pandemic, had net sales drop by 29% for the quarter-end July when contrasted with the previous year.