“There's no way in hell they would have agreed to it,” the source said. Tiffany & Co.—which suffered a net loss of $32.7 million during the first half of 2020, compared to a $261 million profit over the same period in 2019—told Forbes that LVMH knew about Tiffany’s dividend policy. When LVMH announced their decision on September 9 to “defer” the $16 billion deal, Tiffany & Co. hit back with a lengthy lawsuit, asking a Delaware court to force LVMH to complete the agreement made in November denying LVMH’s claim that Tiffany has breached its obligations under the Merger Agreement. “We regret having to take this action but LVMH has left us no choice but to commence litigation to protect our company and our shareholders,” Tiffany chairman Roger N. Farah said when the company filed the lawsuit. “We expect our earnings in the fourth quarter of 2020 will actually exceed the same period in 2019,” he said.

Source: Forbes September 15, 2020 10:07 UTC