Trade · Berlins Today
Frasers Group, the retail empire majority-owned by billionaire Mike Ashley , has outlined plans to assume majority control over the German fashion house Hugo Boss. The owner of Sports Direct confirmed that a series of recent stock acquisitions has enabled it to expand its overall holding in the luxury business to 47.89 per cent. On Tuesday, the retail group — which recently acquired the luxury department store Harvey Nichols — stated that it still intends to "further increase" its ownership of the brand.
Its ultimate objective is to push its stake above 50 per cent of the overall share capital and voting rights, a move that would tighten its grip on how the business is run. However, Frasers cautioned that there is no certainty this objective will be achieved. In addition, it informed shareholders that it is currently reviewing whether it supports Stephan Sturm, the current chair of Hugo Boss ’s supervisory board.
The owner of Sports Direct, Mike Ashley, confirmed that a series of recent stock acquisitions has enabled it to expand its overall holding in the luxury business to 47.89 per cent Frasers’ chief executive Michael Murray is also a member of Hugo Boss’s supervisory board. The FTSE 100 firm has steadily grown its stake in Hugo Boss since first investing in 2020, building its stake up to roughly 36 per cent in July. Frasers then launched a failed takeover attempt for the luxury business, offering to buy all shares in Hugo Boss it did not already own.
It offered to pay around 1.98 billion euro (£1.73 billion) for the remainder of the business, which would have meant paying about 38 euro per share to shareholders. But Hugo Boss’s management and supervisory board said they felt the deal was “inadequate from a financial point of view” and recommended that shareholders do not accept it. Harvey Nichols had gone under auction after warning in its latest accounts that it would need to “cease trading” within a year if it failed to secure new investment Frasers put the offer directly to shareholders, with shareholders worth 17.6 per cent of the company accepting the terms, meaning the majority opted against the offer price.
It comes hot on the heels of Frasers’ acquisition of historic department store chain Harvey Nichols. Harvey Nichols had gone under auction after warning in its latest accounts that it would need to “cease trading” within a year if it failed to secure new investment. The rescue deal includes its six stores in Knightsbridge London, Manchester, Birmingham , Bristol, Leeds and Edinburgh , as well as its online business, product inventory, and around 1,000 workers.
Source: The Independent
