A U.S. District judge has halted the merger between the makers of Coach and Michael Kors handbags, saying it would reduce competition and hurt consumers. In her ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon noted that Tapestry Inc.

Consumers would have less cash in their purses if a proposed Coach-Michael Kors merger went through, the Federal Trade Commission charged. And now a federa

A federal court sides with the FTC, which argued that a Tapestry-Capri merger would raise prices for handbags.

Capri, the parent company of fashion brands Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo, saw its stock tank by more than 50% in pre-market trading on Friday after a federal judge blocked its pending $8.5 billion merger with Coach owner Tapestry.

A federal judge on Thursday blocked Tapestry Inc.’s planned $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri Holdings, agreeing with regulators that the deal would hurt competition in the handbag industry.

A federal judge blocked Tapestry’s acquisition of rival Capri, dealing a blow to their ambitions to create a house of brands that would include Coach, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo.

A federal court judge has blocked the proposed merger between Tapestry-owned Coach and Capri parent Michael Kors. The reasoning behind the judge's order wasn't immediately clear but the FTC had previously argued the merger would harm consumers,