LVMH Group puts up US$14.5bn offer for Tiffany & Co.

Luxury conglomerate LVMH Group is looking to acquire?Tiffany & Co. for US$14.5 billion. In a statement, the jewellery brand confirmed receipt of an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from LVMH to acquire Tiffany & Co. for US$120 per share in cash.

According to Tiffany & Co., it is currently "carefully reviewing" the proposal, with the assistance of independent financial and legal advisors, to determine the course of action it believes is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. It added that no?action is required to be taken at this time.

In a separate statement, LVMH Group also said the discussions are "preliminary" and there can be "no assurance that these discussions will result in any agreement".

If successful, the deal will see Tiffany & Co. join LVMH's other six brands under its watches and jewellery segment -?Bvlgari, Chaumet, Fred, Hublot, TAG Heuer and Zenith. The transaction will also be the biggest in LVMH's history, according to multiple media outlets such as FT and BBC. Its last purchase was the acquisition of the Bulgari brand in 2011 for US$5.2 billion.

In 2015, LVMH also acquired Singapore-based beauty products e-tailer Luxola for a undisclosed sum. The deal was made through its cosmetics subsidiary Sephora. This was the sixth Singaporean brand LVMH had invested in. The other five are Charles and Keith, Ce La Vi, Crystal Jade, Heng Long Tannery and Sincere Watch & Jewellery.

Its competitor Kering, on the other hand, has been refocusing its priorities to?reinforce its status in the luxury scene. In 2018, Kering gave up its majority stake in sports brand Puma to focus to achieve ?an enhanced, best-in-class profitability?. It aims to grow and develop its brands specialising in couture, leather goods, jewellery and watches.

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