A bit like “The School of Fans”, everyone won in Delaware court, where the first hearing in the dispute between Tiffany and LVMH was held on Monday, September 21. At the end of the lawyers’ pleadings, the judge set the date for the opening of the trial for January 5, 2021. It will only last four days. Roger Farah, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tiffany, “Congratulate” of this accelerated procedure. LVMH declares to take “Act today of the decision of the Delaware court of justice, which ruled in favor of a trial to begin in January 2021, and not in November 2020 as requested by Tiffany”.
The American group has sued LVMH to obtain from the judges that the Frenchman honor the terms of the agreement of November 24, 2019 under the terms of which he undertook to launch a takeover bid (takeover bid) at the price of 135 dollars (115 euros) per share, valuing the jeweler at $ 16.2 billion. And this, before the date of November 24, 2020. On September 9, the world number one in luxury announced that it was giving up “To this operation as is”, citing a letter signed by Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who “In reaction to the threat of taxes on French products, asks him to defer the acquisition of Tiffany beyond January 6, 2021”.
Nothing foreshadowed such a political-judicial imbroglio
Nothing foreshadowed such a politico-judicial imbroglio. After 42 days of negotiations, the fate of the jeweler seemed sealed on November 24, when Tiffany’s board of directors accepted the takeover bid launched by the French. Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, ensures that the planets are aligned. Year 2020 “Will be good from a macroeconomic point of view”, he predicted, on January 28, during the presentation of the annual results of his group. He then draws the trajectory that the New York brand will take. It will be Bulgari, whose sales have doubled since its acquisition in 2011.
“If, at Tiffany, we can achieve this, it will be a very good acquisition”, Mr. Arnault assures financial analysts. Everyone welcomes this project. And, while Beijing is imposing containment in certain regions to combat the spread of Covid-19, few are worried. Didn’t Mr. Arnault give them a ” Do not panic ! “, remembering that this virus is “Less aggressive than SARS” from 2003?
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