There is no hurry: the court slows Tiffany, as the debate over the LVMH deal will begin on January 5th, 2021 and will last 4 days. The judge will then express verdict over the 16.2 billion USD acquisition that is at stake between the two (potential) partners. The procedure will be held normally.
The court slows Tiffany
The vice-chancellor of the Delaware Court, Joseph Slights has established that the lawsuit between LVMH and Tiffany will take place on January 5th, 2021. The decision came after the two parties deposited their documentation. The US-based jewelry brand asked for a decision to be made before November 24th, the day in which the closing was supposed to take place.
January 5th still leaves enough time for the proceeding to occur before anti-trust approvals begin expiring. LVMH has stated that they do not believe such an important decision can be made with the urgency that Tiffany requested, and that the iter will take between 6 and 7 months.
Reconciliation?
Mr. Slights stated he hopes the two counterparts are able to have “productive discussions to avoid controversies”. The judge refers to any potential agreement that could be reached before January 5th.
In the documents deposited, LVMH claims to be ready to honor the so-called “specific performance” demanded, thus closing the deal if the court doesn’t allow it to go back on it. The court has mentioned that this will be the decision made, if Tiffany wins, rather than having LVMH pay penalties.
The procedure
While waiting for the court’s decision, the procedure continues. LVMH recently asked the approval of the agreement by the EU’s Antitrust Commission. According to Reuters, which cites a statement made by the EU commission, the antitrust authorities will make their decision over the authorization before October 26th. Beside from the merger option, the entity can also allow concessions or open a 4-months procedure to investigate any concerning matters.
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