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Asteria Colored Diamonds

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Leibish & Co

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Report: Tiffany May Be Ripe for Acquisition

Tiffany & Co. flagship store

Tiffany & Co. has sparkled as the world slowly recovers from one of the worst economic downturns ever. Just today, the luxury jewelry retailer said its holiday net sales grew 11 percent, over the prior year, and that it has increased its global sales outlook to $3.1 billion, well above the $2.7 billion in sales it earned in 2009.

All this success has made the New York-based company ripe for acquisition, according to a Paris-based hedge fund manager.

Bernheim, Drefus & Co. said Tuesday that Tiffany could be the subject of a takeover bid by a luxury conglomerate in 2011, the UK jewelry trade publication Professional Jeweller reports. The most likely suitors are Richemont, Swatch Group and LVMH.

“2010 has been a splendid year for Tiffany with a surge in both sales and stock price and with a great outlook and a consolidating market there is still plenty of room for a continuing growth in the stock,” the company reportedly said.

The hedge fund also said that being a part of a conglomerate would allow Tiffany to “to increase its footprint and have a stronger position towards its stakeholders.”