French luxury house LVMH has been given the green light for the acquisition of Tiffany & Co by the shareholders of the jewellery chain. Now all that is left is the approval by the competition watchdog.
Shareholders’ agreement
A major milestone in the acquisition of Tiffany & Co by LVMH: the jewellery chain’s shareholders have given their approval for the acquisition and the agreed sum of 16.2 billion dollars (15 billion euros).
The deal, which was announced in November last year by LVMH’s CEO Bernard Arnault, now only has to obtain the approval of the competition authorities. Arnault announced that work on this is also in progress: the transaction is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Strategically important
For LVMH, Tiffany & Co is a strategically important addition to the portfolio: it had been looking for openings in the US market for a while, and the takeover is also another blow in the acrimonious rivalry between the French billionaire and his rival François-Henri Pinault’s luxury house Kering. Moreover, the acquisition also means that LVMH is now officially larger in the jewellery sector than its competitor Richemont.
After the acquisition, Tiffany & Co becomes a sister brand of Louis Vuitton, Dior and Bulgari, among others. Last year, the jewellery brand recorded a turnover of four billion euros, LVMH achieved a turnover of 53.7 billion euros.
