M&A
The latest news, updates and analysis on mergers and acquisitions in the UK retail industry. Sign up to the Daily Briefing and let Retail Sector’s business journalists keep you in the picture.
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Jan- 2021 -22 January
Next pulls out of Arcadia race
Next has allegedly withdrawn from the race to acquire Arcadia Group, after the store was unable to meet the price tag for Topshop and Topman. According to The Times, Topshop, which is one of Acardia’s most coveted brands, was said to be valued between £250m and £300m – a sum…
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Sep- 2020 -11 September
Amazon offered $20bn stake in Reliance Retail
Amazon has reportedly been offered a $20bn (£15.2bn) stake in Reliance Industries’ retail arm by its owner and Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani. According to a source cited by Bloomberg, Amazon has held discussions about investing in Reliance Retail Ventures with Ambani reportedly willing to offer as much as a…
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Aug- 2020 -27 August
DFS offloads The Sofa Workshop
DFS has announced an agreement to sell the entire issued share capital of The Sofa Workshop Limited to Halo Furnishings for a total of £300,000m. The gross assets of Sofa Workshop at 30 June 2019 were £10.2m, while the pre-tax loss in the 48 week period ended 30 June…
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Jun- 2020 -25 June
Amazon’s proposed stake in Deliveroo cleared by CMA
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally cleared Amazon’s 16% investment in Deliveroo for the second time, on the basis that it is not likely to result in a “substantial lessening of competition”. In its initial provisional findings, published in April, the CMA provisionally cleared Amazon’s investment on the…
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May- 2020 -26 May
Crew Clothing owner abandons attempt to back out of Moss Bros takeover
Brigadier Acquisition, a vehicle set up by the owner of Crew Clothing, has abandoned its attempt at backing out of its £22m takeover of Moss Bros. According to Sky News, it comes just three days after Brigadier said it would appeal the Takeover Panel’s verdict that it should complete the…
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Sep- 2019 -10 September
Sports Direct among bidders for Links of London
Sports Direct is one of two final bidders attempting to buy jewellery brand Links of London from current owner Folli Follie (FF Group), according to reports from Sky News. FF Group appointed firms Deloitte and Savigny to find a buyer for Links in late August, after the brand pulled out…
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Aug- 2019 -22 August
Tobar places Hawkins Bazaar up for sale
Toy and gift retailer Hawkins Bazaar has been brought to the market by its owner Tobar International. The retailer, which began life as a mail order sales business in the 1970s, has grown over the years to include an online retail platform and national portfolio of 23 stores, most of…
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9 August
Farfetch acquires parent company of Virgil Abloh’s Off-White for £556m
Farfetch has acquired the New Guards Group, the parent company of luxury streetwear brand Off-White, in a £556m deal. The online luxury marketplace revealed that the consideration payable by Farfetch will be split equally between cash and Farfetch shares, with the exact amounts to be determined at completion following customary…
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6 August
Sports Direct acquires Jack Wills in pre-pack deal
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has acquired fashion retailer Jack Wills from administration, after administrators KPMG accepted the £12.75m offer tabled by the sports retail group. Jack Wills currently has 100 stores in the UK, employing around 1,800 people, with all properties and distribution centres to be transferred to Sports Direct…
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5 August
Mike Ashley to rival Philip Day in Jack Wills takeover bid
Sport Direct owner Mike Ashley and Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) owner Philip Day are the final bidders for fashion retailer Jack Wills, according to Sky News. It was first reported last month that the brands owner BlueGem was looking for a buyer for the retailer, with Marquee Brands, Johan Eliasch…
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