The Frasers Group, the retail group of British entrepreneur Mike Ashley, is said to be considering a takeover of the struggling online luxury retailer Matches – formerly Matchesfashion.
The company is said to be in “detailed negotiations” over a deal that could see it take over Matches “within days,” London sources told British broadcaster Sky News.
Any deal with Frasers could result in “heavy losses” for Apax Partners, Matches’ long-standing private equity investor, the report said. The group is said to be considering a deal worth £50m (around €58m).
Frasers is one of the few parties to have made takeover bids in the past week, with British retailer Next also expressing interest in taking over.
Speculation about Matches’ financial position has been circulating throughout the year after it was revealed that Apax had injected £60m into the company in January to cover both equity and debt.
Later, in December, a report in financial publication Drapers said Matches was seeking a £50m capital increase as part of an ongoing turnaround strategy, with all alternatives open to debate.
In November, Matches reported a widening of losses in the year to January 31, with its operating loss rising from £37.5m to £67.2m. In addition, sales also fell by 1.7 percent to £380 million during this period.
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.com