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Oct 22, 2012
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Advent eyes Douglas expansion abroad

By
Reuters
Published
Oct 22, 2012

FRANKFURT - Private equity firm Advent wants to expand German retail jewellery chain Christ abroad as part of its plan to extract value from its 1.5 billion euro ($1.95 billion) takeover of parent group Douglas Holding .



The jewellery chain Christ. Photo: Christ

"From our perspective an expansion is the next step," Advent general manager Ranjan Sen told business weekly WirtschaftsWoche.

"The German-speaking market, above all Austria, is an option that virtually suggests itself. Christ could profit from the experience that the Douglas group has already made there."

Under a deal announced earlier this week, the Kreke founding family teamed up with Advent to take German perfume-to-books retailer Douglas private as chief executive Henning Kreke carries out a restructuring of its books business Thalia.

Sen said he was also looking to dispose of some Douglas businesses to support the family's plans to rearrange assets, which include Christ, Thalia, ladies fashion retailer AppelrathCüpper and the eponymous Douglas perfume store chain.

"One of the Kreke family's secrets to success has certainly been an active portfolio strategy," he said.

He said Douglas also planned a quicker expansion of perfume stores faster in Turkey and, in the medium term, Asia could also be a destination. ($1 = 0.7674 euro) Reporting By Christiaan Hetzner

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