Frasers Group plc (LON:FRAS) has announced that it has recently increased its investment in Hugo Boss, and now has the following interests in the common stock:
· 3,025,000 shares of common stock, representing 4.3% of Hugo Boss’s total share capital
· 20,089,000 shares of common stock via the sale of put options, representing 28.5% of Hugo Boss’s total share capital
After taking into account the premium it will receive under the put options, Frasers Group’s maximum aggregate exposure in connection with its acquired interests in Hugo Boss, with the common stock holding valued at the closing share price on 21 October 2022, is approximately €960m (c. £840m).
Frasers Group has a long history (over twenty years) of making strategic investments to develop relationships and partnerships with other retailers, suppliers and brands, including by way of acquisitions of shares, options, contracts for difference and other financial instruments.
The strategic investments Frasers Group makes offer new opportunities for The Company, whilst also helping to support the long-term future of the existing retail businesses, and the many thousands of jobs they sustain.
Frasers Group continues to see opportunities that strengthen Frasers Group’s brand proposition and the recent acquisitions of Studio Retail Limited (with its significant knowledge and experience in consumer credit) and Missguided (with its focus on Womenswear and its digital platforms) are examples of its drive to expand and acquire businesses and brands that can strengthen Frasers Group, and the connection to our consumers.
Frasers Group has extensive ambitions to grow the business inside and outside of the UK and is constantly exploring the potential for further expansion.
Accordingly, Frasers Group’s board of directors believe that the acquisition of direct and / or indirect strategic stakes within Hugo Boss, are in the ordinary course of business of the Company.
