Private equity firm Elliott joins £500m takeover race for Reiss
US private equity firm Elliott Advisors has reportedly joined the race to takeover upmarket fashion brand Reiss from its current stakeholders Next and Warburg Pincus.
Elliott has expressed interest in buying the fashion brand for upwards of £500m, Sky News has reported.
Up to three parties are also keen to buy the brand, which is being overseen by bankers at Raymond James, Sky News said.
However, there is a chance that Next and Warburg will not sell their stakes in the fashion brand, according to the report.
Next originally bought a 21 per cent stake in Reiss in 2021, whilst its chief executive Lord Wolfson went on a spree of snapping up embattled fashion brands throughout the pandemic.
Last summer, it acquired a further 26 per cent in the brand, making it the majority shareholder.
Under Next’s ownership Reiss has seen an improvement in its performance. In its latest update, it posted a 20.3 per cent jump in total group sales in the nine weeks to January 7.
City A.M. has contacted Elliot Advisors, Next and Warburg Pincus for a comment.