Tiffany Completes $328 Million Sale Leaseback of Tokyo Store

Bloomberg - September 5, 2007

Tiffany & Co., the jewelry retailer, may sell the chain's main London store after divesting its principal location in Tokyo.

"We have been talking about doing that for some time," Chief Financial Officer James Fernandez said today at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. conference in New York. "It is reasonable to expect that this is happening sometime soon."

Billionaire Nelson Peltz, who owns a 5 percent stake in Tiffany, has urged the retailer to boost profit. Besides selling and leasing back its Tokyo store, Tiffany has agreed to sell its Little Switzerland Caribbean jewelry chain, raised its dividend for a second time this year and plans to distribute watches through other retailers starting in 2008.

The Tokyo store, in the Ginza district, was sold to Goldman Sachs for $328 million. That sale will result in an after-tax gain of 47 cents a share in the third quarter, while the store will be leased for 15 to 25 years, New York-based Tiffany said Aug. 30. Tiffany purchased the property in 2003 for approximately $140 million.

Tiffany shares have increased 29 percent this year. The world's second-largest luxury-jeweler, Tiffany has 172 stores and boutiques worldwide. Piaget watchmaker Cie. Financiere Richemont SA of Geneva, Switzerland, is the world's biggest seller of luxury jewelry. Sphere: Related Content