LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods group, said Monday that it has proposed to Tiffany & Co a possible acquisition of the US jewelry group.
“In light of recent market rumors, LVMH Group confirms that it has held preliminary talks about a possible transaction with Tiffany,” the French company said in a statement. “We cannot guarantee that these discussions end in an agreement.”
A source familiar with the situation said that LVMH, which owns among other brands such as Louis Vuitton and Bulgari, has proposed an offer that values Tiffany at about US $120 per share. This would be equivalent to an acquisition offer of US $14.5 billion, which would make it the largest acquisition of the French group to date.
The price also implies a strong premium on the current price of Tiffany, which closed at US $98.55 last Friday.
Another source familiar with the situation said that the French group had submitted a preliminary non-binding offer to Tiffany earlier this month.
LVMH shares rose 1% in Paris.
