Yahoo Finance Tod’s Shares Jump Following News of LVMH Additional Investment
MILAN — Investors on the Italian Stock Exchange welcomed the latest French-Italian liason.
Tod’s shares rose 10 percent on Friday morning and by mid-morning they were trading at 38.66 euros, up 9.5 percent following the news the evening before that Diego Della Valle, chairman and chief executive officer of the Tod’s Group, was selling 6.8 percent of the capital to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. At the end of trading, Tod’s shares closed up 11.39 percent at 39.92 euros.
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Upon completion of the transaction on April 28, the French group will own 10 percent of the Italian accessories and fashion company.
As reported, Diego Della Valle & C S.r.l., a company controlled by the Italian entrepreneur, has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Delphine S.A.S., a fully owned subsidiary of LVMH, for the sale of 2.25 million shares of Tod’s SpA.
LVMH is a longtime investor in Tod’s, already owning 3.2 percent. The price per share is calculated at 33.10 euros, the average price of Tod’s shares over the 15 trading days preceding the signing, for a total of 74.5 million euros.
As a result, Della Valle will own, directly and indirectly, 63.6 percent of Tod’s outstanding shares.
Upon the announcement, Della Valle went as far as saying that the deal “may represent an excellent reason to consider further opportunities to be taken in the future ahead.”
Analysts have for quite some time speculated on a possible sale of the Tod’s Group, which — in addition to the Tod’s brand — includes Hogan, Fay and Roger Vivier, and pointed to Arnault and LVMH as a possible buyer. Della Valle has repeatedly denied the company was for sale and has over time bought back shares with his brother Andrea.
Tod’s has been rejuvenating its offer, reaching out to Gen Z, most recently appointing digital entrepreneur Chiara Ferragni as a board member, focusing on digitalization and working on streamlining its wholesale distribution, but the company has been reporting results that left analysts hoping for a turnaround.
Ferragni’s appointment caused Tod’s shares to leap 12.1 percent on April 9, meaning Arnault would have paid more for his most recent share purchase than earlier in April.
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