The board of directors of fashion brand Mulberry has rejected Frasers Group’s revised offer for the business.
It follows Challice Limited, the company’s majority shareholder, stating publicly that it has “no interest” in selling its Mulberry shares to Frasers.
As a result, Mulberry has now said: “After careful consideration with its advisers…the Board is unanimously of the view that the Possible Offer is untenable and that the Company should focus its attention on driving the commercial performance of the business.”
It also reiterated an earlier statement: “We believe that the combination of the appointment of a new CEO, our new debt facility and the capital raising…will put the Group on a firm footing to ensure we are well set up for future growth.”
The new bid by Frasers, which is a significant minority shareholder in Mulberry, would have entitled shareholders to receive 150 pence in cash for each Mulberry share.
This implies a valuation of approximately £111 million for the entire issued, and to be issued, ordinary share capital of Mulberry, or approximately £72 million for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Mulberry that Frasers does not already own.
