Tiffany Wins January Court Date Against LVMH
September 22, 20
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co yesterday secured a January court date for its legal battle against the French luxury conglomerate LVMH.
The expedited four-day hearing would still make it technically possible for the $16.2bn acquisition to go ahead before antitrust approvals expire.
LVMH pulled out of its delayed purchase of the New York-based jeweler two weeks ago, citing pressure from the French government over a tariffs war with the US and saying the deal was "no longer possible".
Observers believe LVMH, owned by Europe's richest man Bernard Arnault, still wants to buy Tiffany, but not at the price agreed before the pandemic.
The decision by a judge in Delaware, USA, to hold a January trial is a partial victory for Tiffany & Co. Its lawyers had pressed for a date that could allow the deal to be completed by the revised deadline of 24 November.
LVMH had countered that the case was so complex it should be delayed by several months, a move which could scupper the deal.
Tiffany's chairman Roger Farah said: "We will demonstrate to the court that LVMH is in clear breach of its obligations under a valid and binding agreement and that their claim of a material adverse effect is completely baseless."
LVMH said it was "fully confident that it will be able to defeat Tiffany's accusations and convince the court that the conditions necessary for the acquisition of Tiffany are no longer met."
The court date has been set for 5 January 2021.