French luxury business LVMH, owners of Louis Vuitton and Dior, offer to buy Tiffany
French luxury goods powerhouse LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has offered to acquire Tiffany & Co., the 182-year-old American jewelry company, for $120 per share.
LVMH already owns brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Givenchy. The all-cash offer would value Tiffany at nearly $14.5 billion.
Rumors of the acquisition swirled over the weekend, causing Tiffany shares to soar by more than 30% on Monday. The stock was trading at $98.55 at closing on Friday and $127.65 when trading opened Monday.
While Tiffany confirmed it had received "an unsolicited, non-binding proposal" from the LVMH group, it said in a statement that its board of directors is currently reviewing the proposal to "determine the course of action it believes is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders."
Tiffany & Co. was founded in 1837 in New York City and its jewelry blue boxes have become legendary.
It currently has more than 300 international stores and over 14,000 employees. The company, however, reported a 3% decline in worldwide net sales in its second quarter earnings report in August.
LVMH did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment Monday but confirmed news of the proposed acquisition to The Associated Press, saying in a statement that "there can be no assurance that these discussions will result in any agreement."
While LVMH owns a handful of watchmakers, acquiring Tiffany would give it a bigger presence in the jewelry market.
