LVMH and Tiffany in talks to cut price of $16.6bn deal
US jeweller willing to consider lower price to avoid court battle with French luxury goods group
LVMH and Tiffany are in active talks to renegotiate their $16.6bn combination in an effort to avoid a court battle in January, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The French luxury goods group had agreed to pay $135 per share in cash for US jeweller Tiffany in November last year, but since the Covid-19 pandemic hit it has been pushing for a price cut. Last month it threatened to walk away from the deal, triggering competing lawsuits in the US commercial court in Delaware.
Tiffany recently signalled that it was willing to consider a new price as long as it was above $130 per share and the French company agreed to close the transaction without further changes, two people said.
LVMH was open to discussing such terms, and the two sides were still in negotiations, said two additional people.
Every $1 per share off the original $135 per share deal equates to a saving of about $120m on the purchase price.
Shares in Tiffany rose 1.5 per cent to $124.71 in early New York trading. CNBC earlier reported that the discussions were under way.
LVMH and Tiffany declined to comment.