Yahoo Finance Boohoo swoops for Debenhams, as Asos nears deal for Topshop
Online fashion giants Boohoo and Asos have agreed, or are nearing, respective deals for major high street brands Debenhams and Topshop.
Administrators started a wind down of the Debenhams UK business in December, while in November Topshop-owner Arcadia collapsed.
Offers have been sought for all or part of those businesses, and today some deals were announced or updates on them were given.
Boohoo today said it has acquired all of the intellectual property assets (including customer data and related business information and selected contracts) of Debenhams from its joint administrators, for £55 million (plus VAT) in cash.
The online retailer plans to “rebuild and relaunch the Debenhams platform, helping further the group’s stated ambition to lead the fashion eCommerce market, and grow into new categories including beauty, sport and homeware”.
Meanwhile, Asos confirmed that it is in exclusive discussions with the administrators of Arcadia over the acquisition of the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands.
Asos said: “The board believes this would represent a compelling opportunity to acquire strong brands that resonate well with its customer base. However, at this stage, there can be no certainty of a transaction and Asos will keep shareholders updated as appropriate.”
Any acquisition would be funded from cash reserves.
More to follow…
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