The first aspect is the role of the French government and the letter that says that LVMH expresses the need to delay the agreement in response to trade concerns. Jean Jacques Guiony, LVMH`s chief financial officer, rejected the implication that the company had approached the French government to evade its obligations under the agreement, saying over the phone with journalists that “[the letter] was totally unsolicited.” [18] The veracity of this and other claims should be called into question in the resulting litigation. More broadly, it will be important to see how the chancellery believes this fact is important. Setting a precedent that allows companies to refer to government guidelines as “get out of jail free card” can be damaging to mergers concluded shortly before COVID. As the buyer`s remorse may be more noticeable in the current economic environment, buyers may take advantage of a new opportunity to evade their obligations. The directors of LVMH and Tiffany approved the terms of the transaction and all necessary administrative approvals were obtained. The amended merger agreement provides that Tiffany`s quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, to be announced on November 19, 2020, will be declared and paid. The transaction is expected to close in early 2021, subject to the agreement of Tiffany shareholders and normal closing conditions. In September, LVMH said it was abandoning the agreement, citing lingering trade tensions between the United States and the European Union. The company said it was not allowed to conclude the agreement until January, after receiving a letter from the French Foreign Ministry. The agreement had to be reached in November. The deal puts Tiffany at $15.8 billion instead of $16.2 billion. Other key conditions of the merger agreement remain unchanged.
The French conglomerate`s desire to get out of a “deal that would have been the biggest in the luxury industry of all time”[10] was thwarted by a violent complaint from Tiffany, who filed a complaint with the Delaware Court of Chancery seeking the implementation of the agreement. [11] In concrete terms, Tiffany states: [19] David Dawkins, LVMH Outline Legal Defense Plans as Billionaire Bernard Arnault Works to Spike 16 billion Tiffany Deal, Forbes (September 29, 2020), www.forbes.com/sites/daviddawkins/2020/09/29/lvmh-outline-legal-defense-plans-as-billionaire-bernard-arnault-works-to-spike-16-billion-tiffany-deal/#489276a92c9e. The company operates more than 300 TIFFANY-CO companies worldwide as part of its Omni-Channel approach. Retail stores. More information about TIFFANY and CO. You`ll also find your commitment to sustainability in www.tiffany.com. [10] Amelia Lucas – Lauren Thomas, LVMH Scraps US$16.2 billion deal with Tiffany, CNBC (September 9, 2020, 2:38 p.m.), www.cnbc.com/2020/09/09/lvmh-scraps-16point2-billion-deal-with-tiffany.html.