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Hugo Boss recommended shareholders reject Frasers Group’s takeover offer, saying the bid fails to capture the German fashion company’s long-term value.
The €38-a-share ($43.5) offer from June reflects only the statutory minimum price under German takeover rules, it said in a statement Thursday. The company said its conclusion was supported by external opinions from Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.
“We have concluded that the offer price is financially inadequate and fails to appropriately reflect Hugo Boss’ value and future potential,” said supervisory board chairman Stephan Sturm. He added that he’s convinced the current turnaround program under chief executive officer Daniel Grieder “offers superior value creation” for shareholders.
Hugo Boss board members who own shares don’t plan to sell them to the British retail group, according to the statement. The offer is below some levels at which Grieder bought stock during his time in charge, including a January 2023 transaction averaging €56 a share and a January 2024 purchase just below €59.
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Hugo Boss added that the offer appears primarily aimed at allowing Frasers to lift its holding above 30 percent, rather than to pursue specific operational or strategic changes at the company. Frasers already is the company’s largest shareholder with a roughly 26 percent stake.
Frasers, which had offered about €2 billion for the rest of Hugo Boss, declined to comment.
Majority owned by billionaire Mike Ashley, Frasers has long sold Hugo Boss products in its stores and online. Last year, Frasers chief executive officer Michael Murray, who is Ashley’s son-in-law, joined Boss’s supervisory board.
Hugo Boss said that Murray didn’t participate in any review or decision-making process relating to the offer to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
By Sonja Wind
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