LVMH denies planning to buy Tiffany shares on the open market

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Mar 23, 2020

LVMH has denied planning to buy Tiffany shares on the open market, contradicting market rumors stating that they were about to do exactly that.
 
“Rumors circulated recently indicating that LVMH would consider buying Tiffany shares on the open market,” LVMH noted in a terse press release issued on Monday morning.

 
“These rumors lead LVMH to recall that, in accordance with the agreement concluded with Tiffany in November 2019, LVMH is currently committed not to buy Tiffany shares,” the giant French luxury conglomerate insisted in the release.

As widely noted, LVMH agreed in November to buy Tiffany & Co. for $16.2 billion after protracted negotiations, pricing it at $135 a share.

On Friday, Bloomberg News, citing “people familiar with the matter” reported that LVMH was considering buying shares in the tony US jeweler on the open market.
 
Since that deal was struck, stock markets worldwide have nosedived due to investor fears over the impact of coronavirus. And Tiffany’s stock price has also gone south, closing at $125.44 on Friday.
 
Also on Friday, Tiffany reported that quarterly sales for the period ending Jan. 31 – before the rapid international spread of the coronavirus – had risen ahead of analysts’ expectations. 
 
Like numerous luxury brands, Tiffany has closed multiple stores, most notably its iconic Fifth Avenue flagship.