Ted Baker agrees £211m takeover by Reebok owner Authentic Brands
Shares in the British fashion brand jumped on Tuesday morning after it confirmed the agreement.
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Ted Baker has agreed a £211 million takeover by Authentic Brands Group, the US owner of Reebok and Juicy Couture.
Shares in the British fashion brand jumped on Tuesday morning after it confirmed the agreement following months of takeover speculation.
Ted Baker’s board told shareholders they have recommended a 110p per share deal.
If confirmed, the deal will be worth almost a third less than the 160p per share approach ABG was contemplating in May as potential suitors circled the retail business.
The Ted Baker board believes the offer, which is supported by Ted Baker shareholders with a majority of shares, represents a fair value for shareholders and balances the company's growth prospects with the risks of the uncertain economic environment in which the business is operating
Nevertheless, it represents a significant premium to Ted Baker’s current share price, which had slumped since the start of the year.
The retailer, which has nearly 400 locations, launched a formal sale process in April after US private equity firm Sycamore made a series of approaches for the brand and following interest from a number of other interested buyers.
Ted Baker selected a preferred bidder but saw its shares drop after the unnamed frontrunner bowed out in June.
Helena Feltham, interim chairwoman of Ted Baker, said: “In April 2022, after receiving a number of unsolicited bid proposals and having consulted with our major shareholders, the Ted Baker board decided to launch a formal sale process to evaluate interest in the business.
“The process was thorough and attracted global interest.
“Today, we are announcing an all-cash offer from ABG.
“The Ted Baker board believes the offer, which is supported by Ted Baker shareholders with a majority of shares, represents a fair value for shareholders and balances the company’s growth prospects with the risks of the uncertain economic environment in which the business is operating.”