LVMH and Tiffany & Co. are reportedly closing in on a revised merger deal that would give the French conglomerate a discount on the storied New York jeweler.
The luxury titans have reached a preliminary agreement on new terms for the blockbuster tie-up that would see LVMH pay $131.50 a share for Tiffany, down from the original price of $135 per share, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The deal would also bring an end to the bitter court fight that LVMH ignited last month by threatening to abandon the acquisition altogether, according to the paper.
The dispute in Delaware Chancery Court was slated to go to trial in January, but the deal could possibly be closed by that month if the new terms are approved by shareholders, the Journal reports.
Tiffany’s board is reportedly slated to consider the proposal at a Wednesday meeting, but there’s no guarantee it will agree to the changes.
Neither Tiffany nor LVMH immediately responded to requests for comment.
Sources previously told The Post that the two companies were renegotiating their $16.2 billion marriage after suing each other last month. Tiffany accused LVMH of trying to wiggle out of the tie-up they agreed to before the pandemic hit, while the Louis Vuitton owner shot back that the blue-box jeweler’s business prospects had turned “dismal” due to the coronavirus crisis.
The new price reported by the Journal would value Tiffany’s outstanding shares at roughly $15.9 billion and reflect a premium of about 2 percent over the 183-year-old retailer’s closing share price on Tuesday.
Tiffany’s shares were trading about 0.7 percent higher at $129.82 as of 12:40 p.m., while LVMH’s Paris-listed shares were recently down about 4.1 percent at 401.60 euros ($471.89).