Freshfields Advised LVMH And DFS On The Sale Of DFS’s Greater China Travel Retail Business

Freshfields Advised LVMH And DFS On The Sale Of DFS’s Greater China Travel Retail Business

Global law firm Freshfields are advised LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (“LVMH”) and DFS Holdings Limited (“DFS”) on the sale of DFS’s Greater China travel retail business to China Tourism Group Duty Free Corporation Limited (“CTG Duty-Free”). CTG Duty-Free is a prominent travel retail operator headquartered in Beijing, the shares of which are listed on both the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.

Founded in 1960, DFS is a global leader in luxury travel retail owned by LVMH and DFS’ co-founder and shareholder Robert Miller. Through this transaction, CTG Duty-Free will acquire the DFS travel retail stores in Hong Kong and Macau (other than the City of Dreams store in Macau) as well as intangible assets encompassing a series of DFS brands and intellectual properties for exclusive use in Greater China. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions.

In a complementary move, LVMH and the Miller family will participate in a capital increase of CTG Duty-Free by subscribing to newly issued H-shares listed in Hong Kong. The subscription amount represents a small part of their proceeds, and the subscription will be made upon completion of the transaction.

CTG Duty-Free and LVMH also entered into a memorandum of understanding pursuant to which both parties aim to set up a strategic cooperation notably in the retail sector where the strategies of both parties are aligned and in line with the current business model of the LVMH Maisons. This cooperation will offer CTG Duty-Free and LVMH opportunities to leverage their respective strengths and forge further collaborations in Greater China to achieve mutual benefits, e.g. in the areas of product sales, store establishment, brand promotion, cultural communication, travel services or customer experience.

The Freshfields team was led by Sarah Su (Partner), and Dickson Chan (Senior Associate), supported by Eric Cheung (Associate) and Twinkle Chow (Associate). IP and data privacy advice is provided by Richard Bird (Partner), Cédric Lindenmann (Counsel), Fan Li (Senior Associate), and Harshavardan Ganesan (Associate). Employment advice is provided by Stephanie Chiu (Counsel), and Shirley Lam (Associate). Antitrust advice is provided by Alastair Mordaunt (Partner), and Ziqi Zhou (Associate). Regulatory advice is provided by Justin Chow (Counsel), Billy Lui (Senior Associate), and Hysan Chan (Senior Associate), and Juliet Leung (Associate). Tax advice is provided by Peter Clements (Partner), Vincent Daniel-Mayeur (Partner), and Juliette Brasart (Senior Associate), and Jonathan Bowering (Associate). Sanctions advice is provided by Xin Liu (Partner). Hazel Yin (Partner), and Silvia Gong (Senior Associate), and Murphy Li (Partner), from Freshfields RuiMin are providing PRC law advice.

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