Takeover speculation mounts as investment fund buys Superdry stake

Superdry is in the news again with takeover speculation mounting around the embattled retailer after it emerged that a new investor has been building up a stake.

Superdry

And no, it’s not Frasers Group. Instead Norwegian-based alternative investment fund First Seagull now has a 5.3% stake. The Times reported that the fund “considers Superdry to be ripe for a bid” after a number of profit warnings and weak results saw its share price declining further from an already low level.

The newspaper also said Superdry “is understood to have cancelled a planned meeting with investors, which fuelled the speculation still further”.

Serial acquirer Authentic Brands Group (which earlier bought Ted Baker, Forever 21 and Hunter) and American private equity giant Sycamore Partners “are said to have Superdry on their radars” too, which is no surprise.

News that there’s concrete interest in the business sent its share price upwards on Thursday, although as of Friday morning, the shares were still only changing hands for less than 22p each. That gave the firm a total market value of under £22 million. In its glory days as recently as early 2018, the shares sold for over £20 each and the business was worth billions.

A source told The Times that “it’s just a matter of time before there’s an offer.” 

As was the case with Ted Baker, any company wishing to buy Superdry might have to get its founder on board given the large shareholding he controls. And there’s been speculation too that Julian Dunkerton might try to take the firm private himself, although a year ago he said he had no such plans “at the moment”.

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