Louis Vuitton owner confirms interest in jeweller Tiffany

LVMH, the French owner of Louis Vuitton and Givenchy, said it has held preliminary discussions with jeweller Tiffany & Co. on a possible takeover.

There’s no assurance that the discussions will result in any agreement, the French luxury giant said.

Bloomberg reported earlier that LVMH has offered about $14.5 billion (Dh53.21 billion), or $120 a share, for the jeweller in a deal that would expand its access to US luxury shoppers. That would be about 22 per cent more than the October 25 closing price.

“Tiffany could prove an interesting fit to LVMH, which is still underpenetrated in jewellery,” said Deborah Aitken, senior luxury-goods analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. With branded jewellery growing at about 6 per cent a year — about 200 basis points faster than high-end watches — she said buying Tiffany could help LVMH compete against companies such as Swiss rival Richemont SA, the owner of Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels.

Tiffany is expected to reject the offer as undervalued, the Financial Times reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

If successful, though, the purchase would be the biggest deal yet for LVMH founder and Chairman Bernard Arnault, Europe’s richest man. An acquisition would give LVMH an iconic 182-year-old US brand known for its robin’s egg blue boxes and its role as a favourite haunt of Holly Golightly in Truman Capote’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” The French company also owns the Bulgari jewel and watch brand, Sephora cosmetics stores, Hublot watches and Dom Perignon Champagne.

Tiffany shares advanced 22 per cent this year to close at $98.55 on Friday, generating a stock value of $11.9 billion. Still, that’s well short of their closing peak of $139.50 in July 2018.

Paris-based LVMH rose about 1 per cent. It has jumped about 50 per cent this year, giving it a market capitalisation of about $215 billion.

A representatives for and Tiffany declined to comment.

‘Stronger competitor’

A fair valuation of Tiffany would be about $160 a share or higher, according Cowen & Co. analyst Oliver Chen. He wrote in a note Sunday that Tiffany’s “strategic positioning as a gifting authority, brand DNA as a diamond and bridal authority, are leading qualities and deserve an exceptional premium.”

A takeover of Tiffany would be bigger than the $7 billion LVMH paid for the rest of Christian Dior in 2017. For 70-year-old Arnault, it would be his first major transaction since the purchase of luxury hotel chain Belmond last year, and potentially among the largest deals by a European company in 2019.

An acquisition would further diversify the conglomerate, which has been riding a wave of luxury demand in China but faces risks, including that country’s trade war with the US and the months-long anti-Beijing protests in Hong Kong. The company nonetheless beat analysts’ estimates with a 19 per cent sales gain for its key fashion and leather business in the most recent quarter.

LVMH is looking to sharpen its focus on the US, the company’s second-largest region by revenue behind Asia. Earlier this month, it opened a new Louis Vuitton factory in Texas in a ceremony that included President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka.

Young shoppers

Tiffany, after a difficult period when it lost track of consumer trends and suffered from a slump in US tourism, has been bouncing back under Chief Executive Officer Alessandro Bogliolo, revamping its New York flagship store with major investments targeting younger shoppers.

Bogliolo, a former executive of Bulgari and jeans label Diesel who was hired by the US jeweller two years ago after hedge fund Jana Partners pushed for changes, has refreshed Tiffany’s marketing. The CEO said last month that he plans to open more stores in mainland China as a weak yuan deters the country’s consumers from spending overseas.

“Tiffany would become a better company and stronger competitor under the ownership of LVMH,” according to Rogerio Fujimori, analyst at RBC Capital Markets. He wrote in a note Sunday that jewellery is one of the most attractive categories in the luxury sector, “with only a handful of truly global players, and Tiffany has a proven brand equity in Asia.”

Third richest man

In jewellery, LVMH isn’t as dominant as in fashion. Adding Tiffany would expand the French giant’s potential market with somewhat more accessible offerings. Unlike Bulgari’s more-rarefied offerings, such as 2 million euro ($2.2 million) wristwatch, Tiffany is better known for engagement rings that might cost a couple months’ pay.

Arnault is already the world’s third-richest man with a fortune of $96.5 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. A deal for Tiffany would keep him ahead of Richemont’s Johann Rupert and Gucci owner Kering’s Pinault family in the race to consolidate the luxury industry. With sales of more than $50 billion, LVMH dwarfs Tiffany, which has about $4.4 billion.

If an agreement is reached, it would mark the latest push by a French acquirer to tap growth in the US. French technology company Dassault Systemes SE agreed in June to buy Medidata Solutions Inc., a software firm that analyses clinical trials, for $5.7 billion. And last year, Axa SA acquired XL Group Ltd. for $15.3 billion, seeking to capture a bigger slice of the US property and casualty market.