Mike Ashley's Frasers offers £1.73bn to buy all of Hugo Boss
The retail group already owns just over a quarter of the German fashion brand but wants to buy the rest of it.
By BBC News
Mike Ashley-backed Frasers Group has made a major move for Hugo Boss, offering about £1.73bn to buy the shares in the German fashion brand it does not already own.
Frasers Group has launched a £1.73bn takeover offer for the remaining shares in Hugo Boss, marking a major move by one of the UK’s best-known retail groups.
The company, which owns Sports Direct, Flannels, House of Fraser and other retail brands, already holds just over a quarter of Hugo Boss.
It is now offering €38 per share in cash for the Hugo Boss stock it does not already own, valuing the remaining shares at around €1.98bn, or £1.73bn.
Frasers has been building its position in the German fashion brand for several years and is already Hugo Boss’s largest shareholder.
The offer comes as Frasers continues to push further into premium and lifestyle retail, moving beyond its traditional sportswear roots.
Hugo Boss is one of the best-known names in European fashion, with its Boss and Hugo brands selling clothing, footwear, accessories and licensed products around the world.
Frasers said Hugo Boss is a key brand partner and one of the top five brands across its group. It said increasing its investment would create value for Frasers shareholders.
The bid is being closely watched because of Mike Ashley’s long history of taking stakes in retailers and using them to influence strategy.
Ashley founded Sports Direct in 1982 and remains the dominant shareholder in Frasers Group, although his son-in-law Michael Murray now runs the company as chief executive.
Murray also sits on the supervisory board of Hugo Boss. Frasers said he did not take part in the board discussions or decision to make the offer because of that potential conflict of interest.
The offer is not yet a completed deal. It will need to be considered by Hugo Boss shareholders and is expected to face the usual regulatory process.
If successful, the move would give Frasers much greater control over one of Europe’s most recognisable fashion labels.
For UK shoppers and investors, the bid is another sign of how aggressively Frasers is trying to reshape itself from a sports retail group into a wider fashion, lifestyle and premium retail business.
The company has already built stakes in a number of well-known retail names, including Asos, Boohoo and Mulberry, while continuing to expand its own retail brands.
The proposed Hugo Boss deal would be one of its most significant international moves to date.