FTC leaning toward lawsuit to block Tapestry’s $8.5B purchase of Capri – report

The Federal Trade Commission is leaning toward filing a lawsuit to block Tapestry’s (NYSE:TPR) planned $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri Holdings (NYSE:CPRI).

While no decision has been made at this point, the FTC is expected to vote on the transaction this month, according to traders, who cited a Capitol Forum report from late Friday, which cited people familiar with the matter. It’s not a forgone conclusion that the FTC will sue to block the deal.

The Capri/Tapestry deal received a request for more information from the Federal Trade Commission in November. The latest story comes after the 2024 American Bar Association Antitrust Spring meeting was held in Washington, DC this week.

FTC Bureau of Competition Director Henry Liu is said to have made some comments about the agency focusing on head-to-head competition, not necessarily market definition, at the meeting. Although the Capri/Tapestry deal wasn’t specifically mentioned, some investors were concerned that the regulator may be referencing the deal through his comments.

The report comes as the European Commission has a deadline of Monday to decide if it will move its investigation of the transaction into an in-depth review.

Capri (CPRI) shares dropped for the last three days, falling 11% to the lowest levels since the $8.5 billion acquisition was announced in August. The deal spread is also the widest since the deal was unveiled. Some traders and analysts believe that Capri (CPRI) shares may be worth around $30 a share on a standalone basis, if the deal is blocked.

Tapestry (TPR) in early August struck a deal to acquire Capri (CPRI) for $57.00 per share in cash. The deal will combine Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman together with Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Michael Kors.

A potential FTC lawsuit comes as the regulator, especially under the Biden administration and FTC Chair Lina Khan, has been vigilant about antitrust enforcement and has sued to block several deals. In January, Amazon (AMZN) walked away from a $1.4 billion purchase of vacuum robot maker iRobot (IRBT) amid reports that the FTC was expected to sue to block the deal.

On Thursday, Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy said that he believes regulators may be acting outside the boundaries of the law in some recent matters.

“There are some acquisitions happening, but we’re, you know, we’re consuming a lot of time and taxpayers money with what we’re doing right now, and I think a lot of it is outside the bounds of the law right now,” Jassy said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday. “I think we got to be careful right now in Western countries in the way that we’re handling regulation.”