U.K. Designer Ted Baker Rejects Sycamore’s £254 Million Bid

Thomas Mulier, Bloomberg News

A Ted Baker Plc store in Covent Garden in central London, U.K., on Friday, March 18, 2022. Ted Baker Plc shares gained the most in almost two years after Sycamore Partners Management LP said it’s considering making an offer for the U.K. fashion brand, which lost more than 90% of its value in the past four years. Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) --

Ted Baker Plc said its board rejected two bids made by consumer-focused private equity fund Sycamore Partners Management LP to buy the U.K. fashion brand, the most recent one for about 254 million pounds ($334 million).

Sycamore offered 130 pence a share on March 18 and raised that to 137.5 pence a share on March 22, Ted Baker said Monday. The second bid was 9% higher than Friday’s closing price.

Ted Baker said Monday its board considers that it can boost its share price beyond those levels on its own after its turnaround plan put in place over the past two years.

Sycamore is a New York-based fund that focuses on consumer and retail businesses, with about $10 billion in capital. The company said March 18 it was considering making an offer.

Bloomberg reported in January Sycamore was one of several firms considering a bid for Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.’s international drugstore unit. Sycamore previously owned brands including Kurt Geiger and Nine West. Recently, it has reportedly also been targeting Kohl’s, a U.S. department store chain.

Ted Baker shares have lost more than 90% of their value in the past four years. Chief Executive Officer Rachel Osborne has been seeking to revive Ted Baker by cutting debt and product markdowns, boosting online sales and refreshing the brand.

The retailer’s founder Ray Kelvin departed in 2019 after being accused of inappropriate hugs and other behavior in the workplace, which he denied. The company last month reported a 35% gain in fiscal fourth-quarter revenue.

Sycamore would have three key shareholders it would need to convince on a bid: Toscafund Asset Management, which owns a 27% stake; Kelvin, who has about 12% and Schroders Plc, which has 8.8%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

(Updates with value of bid in first paragraph)