LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods company, has unveiled a 3.7bn euros ($5.18bn; £3.18bn) all-share deal to take over Italian jeweller Bulgari.
LVMH will buy 50.4% of Bulgari, issuing 16.5 million shares in exchange for 152.5 million shares held by the Bulgari family.The French firm will also seek to buy the rest of Bulgari shares at 12.25 euros a share - a premium of about 60%.
Trading in Bulgari shares in Milan was suspended after they gained 58%.
Bulgari has agreed to the takeover "in order to reinforce, in accordance with its history, values, craftsmanship and identity, the long-term development of the Bulgari Group", it said.
As part of the deal, the Bulgari family will become the second-biggest family shareholder in LVMH.
At the start of February, LVMH reported record revenues for 2010, with all areas of the group seeing double-digit growth.
Economic recovery in key markets such as China helped to increase LVMH's revenues by 19% to 20.3bn euros, in what it dubbed "a great vintage year".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12663725
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