ABG reportedly interested in Ted Baker buy

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 25, 2022

The Ted Baker sale process looks to be getting interesting with news that Reebok’s owner — Authentic Brands Group — is interested in the business.

ABG, which earlier this year bought control of David Beckham’s DB Ventures, also owns Juicy Couture, and Sky News reported that it’s “exploring whether to table a formal offer” for Ted Baker.

The $13bn business is reportedly among several parties that have been in talks with Ted Baker’s advisors in the past few weeks. It’s not known yet which firms met the deadline late last week for non-binding indicative offers.

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ABG — under billionaire Jamie Salter — has become a massive operation in recent years with its Reebok buy and the recent Beckham deal adding further weight to its global presence.

Buying Ted Baker, a brand with a market valuation at the moment of only around £27 million, would be relatively small scale compared to some of its deals. But the brand does have a major presence in the UK, as well as global operations and employs thousands of people.

Stock exchange-listed Ted Baker was originally put up for sale after it received three unsolicited bids from private equity group Sycamore Partners, the first two valued at up to £250 million. The total price for third offer hasn’t been revealed. But the company rejected all the offers as undervaluing it.

Sky said it’s unclear whether ABG — if it decided to bid — would work with a partner, having previously linked up with JD Sports in an attempt to take over Topshop in the aftermath of the Arcadia failure.