FCA approves £10m acquisition of Musicmagpie by AO World Retail The UK’s financial watchdog has approved the acquisition of Musicmagpie by AO World for £10m. First announced in October, the deal will see the electrical retailer acquire Musicmagpie for 9.1p per share, a fraction of its market capitalisation at IPO in 2021. It floated with a share price of 193p. Bolton-headquartered AO sells white goods [...]
Burberry shares jump on Moncler takeover rumours Retail Shares in British luxury retailer Burberry have jumped this morning on rumours that the fashion house could be a takeover target for Italian outerwear brand Moncler. Burberry’s share price rose more than seven per cent in early trades, before paring back gains to just over four per cent. Specialist fashion site Miss Tweed reported that [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers abandons Mulberry bid amid governance concerns Retail Frasers Group, led by Mike Ashley, has confirmed it will not pursue a bid for Mulberry, after the iconic British luxury brand rejected its two previous cash offers earlier this month. The first bid, launched on 1 October at £83m, was dismissed by Mulberry as undervaluing the brand. A subsequent offer on 10 October at [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group backs N Brown takeover amid Mulberry pursuit October 18, 2024 Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has backed the £191m proposed takeover of JD Williams-owner N Brown and announced the sale of its 20 per cent stake in the company for £38m. The retail empire, which includes Sports Direct and House of Fraser, holds nearly 95,000,000 shares in the Manchester business and will sell them for 40p [...]
Mulberry to ponder bid from Mike Ashley’s Frasers despite lack of interest from majority shareholder October 14, 2024 British retailer Mulberry has announced that it is evaluating Frasers’ second bid for the firm, despite a lack of interest from its majority shareholder, Challice. In light of Frasers’ £111m bid, the luxury brand is “working with advisers to consider the company’s position,” it said, despite Challice’s public snub of the deal. Challice, which is [...]
In The Style: What’s next for fast-fashion label as founder quits and takeover drags on? October 1, 2024 The founder of fast-fashion label In The Style has quit as a drawn-out takeover deal continues to rumble on. Adam Frisby set up the Manchester-based brand from his bedroom in 2013 and served as its chief executive January 2022 but returned as CEO in December that year before again leaving the role 12 months later. [...]
Rightmove still in play after REA walks away, analysts say October 1, 2024 Rightmove may have seen off Murdoch-owned REA’s unsolicited bids for the company, but the saga is likely to set more would-be bidders on the property platform’s tail, analysts have said. Its share price fell about seven per cent at the start of this week on news that Australian property firm REA had walked away from [...]
Mulberry rejects Frasers £83m offer as too low October 1, 2024 British luxury brand Mulberry has rejected a possible takeover from minority shareholder Frasers Group on the grounds that it doesn’t recognise the company’s future value and will not lead the group back to profit. Frasers announced a possible takeover bid yesterday, 30 September, after it was snubbed from Mulberry’s £10m capital raise with majority shareholder [...]
Rightmove made the wrong move, says Murdoch’s News Corp September 30, 2024 Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has applauded REA’s decision to abandon a takeover of Rightmove after the property platform rejected its fourth offer. In a statement today, Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp, said he “strongly supported” the property group’s “financial discipline” in pulling out of the bid, and added that it was an example [...]
Rightmove bidding battle shows that UK plc isn’t ‘for sale at any price’ September 23, 2024 A “lack of engagement” from Rightmove may have come as a surprise to Rupert Murdoch’s property group REA after it tabled not one but two takeover offers for the British company this month. On Monday, REA’s boss Owen Wilson said he was “genuinely disappointed” that Rightmove was unmoved by the interest, as the Australian firm [...]