After a very public dispute between the two companies, Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) has finally accepted a buyout offer from competitor LVMH (OTC: LVMUY). The accepted deal has been valued at $15.8 billion.
LVMH and Tiffany's initial troubles began earlier this year when LVMH initially called off its takeover of the American luxury goods firm back in September. At the time, the deal was suspended because it was used as a bargaining chip in the Euro-American trade war started by President Donald Trump. LVMH had received a letter from the French Foreign Ministry asking it to delay the deal until 2021 amid the ongoing dispute. The falling out intensified later in September when Tiffany brought a suit against LVMH.
Other factors had helped delay the transaction, such as interference by LVMH controlling shareholder Bernard Arnault, who was displeased that Tiffany wanted to pay dividends before the acquisition finished. Arnault is behind the deal's renegotiation, which lowered the original price-per-share LVMH was to pay from $135 to $131.50.
Tiffany's declining performance during the coronavirus pandemic has also contributed to the delays in the merger's execution; LVMH had become concerned about the company's declining sales figures. However, Tiffany has experienced some recovery, citing the holiday season and improvements in the Chinese market.
The announcement came on Thursday, giving markets only a partial day of trading to react to the news before exchanges closed for new years, so there's not much to see in terms of how markets will respond to the deal just yet. Tiffany shares shot down shortly after market open on Thursday and spent most of the day reaching the day's open price, only for markets to close with Tiffany a single cent below its opening price.
If this is a reaction to the deal, it's a very minute one at that, but there's always a possibility that the newly minted deal might cause more of a reaction when markets open again on Monday, but likely not in any significant way.