Business

In the biggest-ever takeover in the luxury-goods industry, LVMH, a French global conglomerate, announced its acquisition of Tiffany, an American jeweller founded in 1837 and known for its flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York. LVMH is paying $16.9bn, more than the roughly $14.5bn that was suggested when the transaction was first mooted in late October. The deal represents a success for Bernard Arnault, LVMH’s boss and controlling shareholder, who had courted Tiffany for some time.

The flotation of Alibaba’s shares on the Hong Kong stockmarket raised $11.2bn, making it the most valuable share offering this year, ahead of the $8.1bn that Uber raked in at its IPO in May. The stock rose by 6.6% on the first day of trading in what is a secondary listing in Alibaba. Its shares are also listed in New York.

The chief executive of Westpac resigned and the chairman said he would step down next year, as Australia’s second-largest bank faced mounting criticism about its response to a money-laundering scandal. A regulator has accused Westpac of failing to monitor more than 23m suspect transactions, some of which enabled child exploitation in the Philippines. The bank has found itself in politicians’ cross-hairs. Australia’s treasurer said it had been indifferent to the scandal; the attorney-general noted that it was an “unbelievably serious” matter. Westpac has reportedly cancelled its Christmas party.

Charles Schwab, America’s biggest discount broker, struck a $26bn deal to acquire TD Ameritrade, a rival. The pair had recently been engaged in a price war, both ditching the transaction fees they charged customers. The combined group will have around $5trn in client assets.