Ted Baker has recommended a cut-price takeover offer from US group Authentic Brands of £211mn despite the UK fashion brand’s rejection of previous approaches at higher valuations as “inadequate”.
Authentic Brands, a US group that owns businesses including Reebok, Nautica and Eddie Bauer, is offering 110p a share in cash for the company, which just four years ago was capitalised at more than £1bn.
Shares in the group rose 16 per cent on Tuesday morning.
Directors of the UK group said the bid represented “a fair value for shareholders and balances the company’s growth prospects with the risks of the uncertain economic environment in which the business is operating”.
This included “the potential for an extended period of recession in the UK”, they added. Authentic cautioned that it could not rule out store closures and headcount reductions at the company.
The offer was supported by a majority of Ted Baker’s shareholders, including founder Ray Kelvin, value investor Toscafund and fund managers Schroders and Oasis, who together account for 50.7 per cent of the…
