Apax seeks to sell Tommy Hilfiger for $3bn price tag
TOMMY Hilfiger’s private equity owner is in talks with Phillips Van Heusen about a $3bn (£2bn) takeover bid for the US designer clothing line.
London-based Apax Partners, which owns Tommy Hilfiger, has been talking to companies to gauge their interest in acquiring Hilfiger, while at the same time continuing to explore an initial public offering.
A deal between Apax and Phillips Van Heusen, which owns US designer rival Calvin Klein, would be seen as a sign by the industry that it is beginning to recover after sharp drop in consumer spending due to the financial crisis.
Apax had planned to float the US design house on the Amsterdam exchange, but shelved the IPO in 2008 due to volatile market conditions.
Apax and Tommy Hilfiger declined to comment.