British clothing retailer Ted Baker Plc has suffered a major setback in its search for a buyer. On Tuesday, Ted Baker announced that the bidder preferred by the board of directors had withdrawn. The previous prospective buyer, whose identity was not known, let it be known on Monday evening that he would not continue the takeover process, the company said. Ted Baker’s share price immediately fell by more than 20 percent on the news.
The clothing retailer had started a formal sale process in early April to find a new owner. After several non-binding takeover bids had been received, the company management had decided on a favorite and enabled a final audit to be carried out. According to the potential bidder, the fact that no agreement was reached was not due to the results of the audit, explained Ted Baker.
After the failure of previous efforts, the board of directors will now decide how to deal with the other offers received, according to a statement. The board continues to reserve the right to change or cancel the sales process. The clothing supplier intends to publish more information “at a suitable time”.