German fashion brand Hugo Boss on Thursday urged shareholders not to accept a €2 billion ($2.3 billion) takeover offer from Britain’s Frasers Group, saying it was “financially inadequate”.
Hugo Boss’ Strategy
The company said the €38-per-share cash offer — a premium of just 4.3% to the share price when it was announced — reflected the legally required minimum price for Frasers to raise its stake rather than Hugo Boss’ intrinsic value or potential.
“Hugo Boss has a well-defined strategy, a strong financial profile, and a compelling path to superior long-term value creation,” CEO Daniel Grieder said in a statement.
Shares in the maker of men’s suits and casualwear were little changed at around 1000 GMT, trading just below €38. The stock briefly jumped in early June after Frasers announced its bid, but remains about 50% below its July 2023 level.
Frasers’ Offer
The offer price is “less a statement of valuation and more the mechanical extension of an accumulation strategy”, Citi said in a note.
Frasers, which owns about 26% of Hugo Boss, launched the bid to raise its stake above 30% — the threshold at which German regulations require it to make a full takeover offer to other shareholders.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
