Factbox: LVMH’s Bid For Tiffany Only The Latest Victim Of COVID-19 Pandemic

The largest U.S. mall owner, Simon Property Group Inc, in June ditched its $3.6 billion deal for competitor Taubman Centers Inc, citing the beating the retail sector has taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. Taubman vowed to fight Simon’s move, and litigation is ongoing.

Telefonica sued Millicom International Cellular of Luxembourg for backing out of a $570 million deal for the Spanish company’s operations in Costa Rica. While Telefonica is pursuing breach of contract damages against Millicom in state court in Manhattan, it struck a deal in July to sell the business to Liberty Latin American Ltd for $500 million.

Juweel Investors Ltd sued an affiliate of Carlyle Group Inc for failing to close the purchase of a significant stake in American Express Global Business Travel, a deal that was estimated at $1.5 billion. The deal expired without closing and the two sides are scheduled to go to trial next year to determine if the pandemic constituted a “material adverse event” that would have allowed the buyers to back out.

L Brands Inc in May called off the sale of its majority stake in Victoria’s Secret lingerie business to Sycamore Partners, after the retail operator and buyout firm sued each other over the $525 million deal. Sycamore fired the first legal shot, alleging in an April lawsuit that L Brands breached the deal by closing nearly all of its about 1,600 Victoria’s Secret and PINK stores globally without Sycamore’s permission.