Mulberry rejects Frasers’ £83m takeover offer
Frasers had made the 130 pence-per-share offer yesterday, which would see it acquire 36.8% of the handbag company
Mulberry has rejected a £83m offer from Frasers to take over the company, after stating its offer “did not recognise the company’s substantial future potential value”.Frasers had made the 130 pence-per-share offer yesterday, which would see it acquire 36.8% of the handbag company.
Mulberry’s board said it carefully considered the offer, and had consulted with its financial and legal advisers, as well as Challice Limited, which is the group’s majority shareholder with 56.1%.
Its board said it believes that the recent appointment of Andrea Baldo as CEO, alongside a recently announced subscription and retail offer, “provides the company with a solid platform to execute a turnaround and, ultimately, to deliver best value for all Mulberry shareholders”.
Challice also voiced its support for the company’s turnaround strategy and said it “has no interest” in supporting the offer from Frasers.
In a statement, Mulberry said: “Recognising that Frasers is a committed and important investor in Mulberry, and has publicly stated that it would have been willing to underwrite the Subscription, the board looks forward to engaging further with Frasers regarding a pro rata participation in the subscription.”
Under takeover rules in the UK, Frasers now has until 28 October to make a firm offer for Mulberry, or decide to not make an offer.
Frasers said there was no certainty that an offer will be made, “nor as to the terms on which any such offer might be made”.
