BREAKDOWN

LVMH Scraps $16.2 Billion Tiffany Acquisition That Would Have Been Biggest-Ever Luxury Goods Deal

The luxury goods retailer announced it was withdrawing over potential U.S. tariffs on French goods. Tiffany is suing to complete the deal.

LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury conglomerate, canceled its $16.2 billion deal to acquire Tiffany due to potential U.S tariffs, the company announced Wednesday. In July, the U.S. government announced a 25 percent tariff on French goods that would not be implemented until January 6, 2021. LVMH, which is controlled by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, said Wednesday the country’s government had directed it to delay the deal to after that date. In response, Tiffany is filing a lawsuit, saying LVMH lacks the legal grounds to renege on the deal. CNN reports that the deal’s breakdown comes after months of speculation that the French company was looking for a way out of the acquisition after the coronavirus pandemic crashed the market for luxury consumer goods.