A preliminary decision seems to have been made in the takeover gamble surrounding British clothing supplier Ted Baker Plc. On Monday, the company announced that it had decided to make an offer as part of the sales process that started in early April. The preferred bidder, whose identity has not been disclosed, will now have the opportunity to finally examine Ted Baker’s books, according to your communication. This process will probably take “several weeks”.
The company also stated that financial investor Sycamore Partners Management LP was no longer involved in the sale process. Sycamore opened the bidding war in mid-March with an initial takeover bid. However, this had been rejected by the management of the clothing supplier as too low. The financial house then improved its offer several times before apparently dropping out of the race.
Ted Baker announced that several non-binding bids were received as part of the sales process, from which management have now selected their favourite. However, the management emphasized that it was still unclear whether a concrete purchase offer would actually be made and reserved the right to “change or cancel the bidding process at any time”.
