LVMH to counter-sue Tiffany for 'dishonesty'
CGTN
Tiffany & Co sued LVMH on September 9 after the French luxury goods giant told the U.S. jeweler it could not complete a 16 billion U.S. dollars deal to acquire it because of a French government request and the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. /Reuters

Tiffany & Co sued LVMH on September 9 after the French luxury goods giant told the U.S. jeweler it could not complete a 16 billion U.S. dollars deal to acquire it because of a French government request and the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. /Reuters

French luxury goods giant LVMH accused U.S. jeweler Tiffany of "dishonesty" Thursday, saying it would do battle in court as plans for a sparkling tie-up descended into bitter recrimination.

LVMH considers that the lawsuit filed by Tiffany is totally unfounded. It has clearly been prepared by Tiffany a long time ago and communicated in a misleading way to shareholders and is defamatory.

"The long preparation of this assignment demonstrates the dishonesty of Tiffany in its relations with LVMH," it added.

The French firm vowed to "defend itself vigorously" against Tiffany's accusation that it had failed to seek regulatory approvals for the planned 16.2 billion U.S. dollars acquisition in a timely manner.

LVMH also said it had been able to examine Tiffany's current economic situation – the coronavirus pandemic has weighed heavily on the luxury sector – and its management of a crisis that has hammered its market value.

It thus "confirms that the necessary conditions for the conclusion of the acquisition of Tiffany are not fulfilled".

After LVMH called off the acquisition, Tiffany vowed to take legal action to push the deal through.

The French group said Wednesday that its board had decided not to proceed with the deal following "a succession of events which undermine the acquisition of Tiffany & Co," notably U.S. threats to slap tariffs on French products.

LVMH also says that Tiffany paid out large dividends while making losses, which has affected its operations and organization.

Tiffany's market value is now much less than when the deal was signed.

Source(s): AFP