Burberry seeks help from advisers to defend against possible bid
Fashion chain Burberry has been seeking help from its financial advisers to defend against a possible takeover bid after it was found that a mystery investor had built up a 5% stake in the company, according to reports.
Burberry Group
1,171.50p
10:05 03/05/24
FTSE 100
8,202.15
10:05 03/05/24
FTSE 350
4,507.28
10:05 03/05/24
FTSE All-Share
4,460.80
10:05 03/05/24
Personal Goods
16,352.23
10:04 03/05/24
The company tried to obtain an answer from HSBC, the custodian for the shares, but failed, a person close to the company told the Financial Times.
Other reports suggested that the fashion house, whose shares have had a chequered recent history due to worries about its major exposure to the slowing Chinese market, was attracting interest from US luxury handbag retailer Coach as well as private equity firms.
Independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said: "Well, as the so-called 'mystery' HSBC stake of c5% in Burberry has been around for some time and includes their fund management holdings, it is not clear why Burberry are on takeover alert, but the City has taken no chances and pushed the share price up by 4% so far after today’s press coverage."