Tiffany Alleges LVMH Avoids Fulfilling Merger Obligations By Requesting Delaware Trial Delay

(RTTNews) - Responding to LVMH's request to delay the Delaware trial for "six or seven months"?, Tiffany & Co. (TIF) said Wednesday that LVMH's opposition to Tiffany's motion to expedite is the latest attempt to run out the clock to avoid fulfilling its obligations under the merger agreement between them.

If LVMH were confident in its legal position, it would have no reason to oppose an expedited trial schedule, Tiffany said in a statement.

Tiffany has urged the court to hold the trial on a timetable that will enable a decision before the November 24 termination date in the merger agreement.

Tiffany alleged that LVMH is continuing its blatant ongoing efforts to avoid paying the agreed-upon price for Tiffany. LVMH has been grasping at any opportunity to delay and avoid its obligations. It includes excuses for failing to make standard antitrust filings, complaints about the pandemic, and protests that LVMH previously agreed could not be considered as a valid reason to question the transaction.

Tiffany stated that LVMH simply does not have the unilateral right to walk away from the transaction or to reduce its price just because it is now suffering from a case of buyer's remorse.

Tiffany said it filed its lawsuit in Delaware only after LMVH put out a press release announcing it would not close due to a letter it said it had received from the French government.

Tiffany alleged that LVMH has still not provided it a copy of the original letter and did not even inform Tiffany of the letter or share a purported translation of the letter for over a week after receiving it. Most importantly, the letter does not provide a basis for LVMH to refuse to close the transaction.

It was in November last year that LVMH agreed to buy Tiffany for $135 per share in cash. The transaction had an equity value of approximately 14.7 billion euros or $16.2 billion. Tiffany shareholders approved its proposed acquisition by LVMH in February.