LVMH-Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (LVMUY – Free Report) announced on Monday that it will buy Tiffany & Co. (TIF – Free Report) for $16.2 billion. The deal comes roughly a month after the luxury brand powerhouse offered to buy the American diamond giant.
LVMH is set to pay 12% more than its initial bid for Tiffany. The move comes as the strong U.S. dollar continues to hurt the spending power of international tourists, which remain vital for Tiffany. On top of that, Chinese customers in mainland China continue to drive Tiffany sales. LVMH made the deal to buy the diamond icon founded in 1837 to help it expand its reach in Europe, which should help it better compete with the likes of Cartier.
Meanwhile, LVMH, which owns Dom Pérignon, Marc Jacobs, TAG Heuer, and many other luxury brands, has found success in a market that has seen traditional retailers such as Macy’s (M – Free Report) and Nordstrom (JWN – Free Report) struggle.
The transaction is expected to close in the middle of 2020. Shares of both TIF and LVMUY jumped on the back of the official announcement, with both stocks now up over 50% in 2019.
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