Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has raised its stake in Hugo Boss to almost 48 per cent after 17.6 per cent of the German fashion house’s investors accepted its takeover offer, the retailer said in a brief stock exchange statement – a holding that tightens its grip on the brand but falls short of majority control.
The Sports Direct owner launched a £1.7 billion offer for Hugo Boss at €38 per share, part of a run of deals that has also included the acquisition of Harvey Nichols, the luxury department store chain, and a takeover offer for Accent Group, the Australian owner of The Athlete’s Foot shoe brand.
Frasers has spent several years building its position in Hugo Boss, which it stocks in its Flannels and Frasers shops, and stepping up efforts to exert influence over the brand. That campaign has included threatening to vote against future dividend payments and successfully pushing for a seat on the label’s supervisory board for Michael Murray, the Frasers chief executive and Ashley’s son-in-law.
Analysts described the offer as low, voluntary and lacking a minimum acceptance threshold, suggesting the group was “seeking optionality rather than necessarily full control”. Submitting a voluntary offer allowed Frasers to build its stake beyond 30 per cent without triggering the mandatory bid required under German takeover rules once an investor crosses that threshold.
Ashley may yet need more than 50 per cent. Sources told the Times in July that Frasers was laying the groundwork for Murray to be installed as chief executive of Hugo Boss, a move that would follow a playbook the retailer has deployed before.
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