LVMH has penned a deal to buy Tiffany & Co for a lower price after a long dispute between the two luxury firms. 

LVMH, which owns brands such as Christian Dior and Dom Pérignon, has knocked $425m off the price tag and will buy Tiffany & Co for $15.8bn (£12.2bn).

The French luxury conglomerate initially backed out of its original takeover deal with the jewellery business, claiming it was no longer the same company it agreed to buy last November before the pandemic hit.

Tiffany & Co sued LVMH in a bid to drive the deal to completion. LVMH then counter-sued, citing both the jeweller’s “dismal” performance and a request from the French government to delay the deal over threats of new US tariffs on French products. 

Tiffany chair Roger N Farah said: “It was in the best interests of all of our stakeholders to achieve certainty of closing.”

LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault said: “We are as convinced as ever of the formidable potential of the Tiffany brand and believe that LVMH is the right home for Tiffany and its employees during this exciting next chapter.”