Yahoo Finance Coach tipped as favourite to bag Jimmy Choo in £1bn deal
Coach, the US handbag giant, is eyeing a £1bn-plus swoop for Jimmy Choo as the luxury goods industry roars back to life.
Last week the shoe maker, made famous by US television series Sex and the City, was put up for sale just three years after listing on the London stock market. Majority owner JAB Holdings, the investment vehicle of the German Reimann family, made the surprise move as unwinds its interests in high-end goods towards consumer products such as coffee and sandwiches.
Senior sources said Coach is scouring for luxury brands to buy following last year’s failed £20bn tilt at British fashion house Burberry.
Sources noted that Coach also recently installed Joshua Schulman, the former boss of Jimmy Choo, as chief executive of its brand, which would give the company an advantage over rival suitors.
Coach also owns US shoe brand Stuart Weitzman, which is fronted by model-of-the-moment Gigi Hadid and is vying with rival Michael Kors to buy US accessories firm Kate Spade. Although a takeover of Kate Spade could put it out of the running for Jimmy Choo, retail sources said that Coach, which is valued at $11bn on the New York Stock Exchange, had deep pockets that would enable it to pull off an opportunistic deal.
Bankers said Jimmy Choo was unlikely to attract luxury houses such as Kering or LVMH, which have been working to streamline their businesses, rather than expand.
Middle Eastern buyers, such as Qatar’s Mayhoola, which owns stakes in luxury businesses including Anya Hindmarch, Valentino and Balmain, are also tipped as potential buyers.
This would be the fourth time the company has changed hands since being founded in the early Nineties.
Jimmy Choo’s shares have recovered by a third over the past year as demand for luxury goods begins to resurface.
All parties declined to comment.
