Global law firm Freshfields is advising 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 advising on the transaction is led by partner Sarah Su and senior associate Dickson Chan, supported by associates Eric Cheung and Twinkle Chow.

IP and data privacy advice is provided by partner Richard Bird, counsel Cédric Lindenmann, senior associate Fan Li and associate Harshavardan Ganesan.

Employment advice is provided by counsel Stephanie Chiu and associate Shirley Lam. Antitrust advice is provided by partner Alastair Mordaunt and associate Ziqi Zhou. Regulatory advice is provided by counsel Justin Chow, senior associates Billy Lui and Hysan Chan and associate Juliet Leung.

Tax advice is provided by partners Peter Clements and Vincent Daniel-Mayeur, senior associate Juliette Brasart and associate Jonathan Bowering. Sanctions advice is provided by partner Xin Liu. Partners Hazel Yin, Silvia Gong and Murphy Li from Freshfields RuiMin are providing PRC law advice.