Mike Ashley’s retail group Frasers has made a €1.98bn (£1.73bn) offer to buy the remaining shares of German fashion brand Hugo Boss, a move that would bring the luxury label under the same roof as Sports Direct and Flannels.
The offer of €38 a share is a premium on the €36.44 at which Hugo Boss shares closed on Wednesday. Frasers already owns 26% of the company, having steadily built its stake since 2020, and is now required under German law – because its holding is close to 30% – to make an offer for the whole business.
“Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has offered €1.98bn to buy the remainder of German fashion brand Hugo Boss.”
Hugo Boss said it would “thoroughly examine the offer and issue a reasoned statement”, describing the bid as “unsolicited” and “not coordinated with the company”. In a statement, Frasers said it was “a long-term investor” and remained supportive of the chair, Stephan Sturm, and chief executive Daniel Grieder.
The offer is expected to go to a shareholder vote. If approved, Frasers expects the takeover to be completed in the second half of this year, subject to regulatory approvals.
Frasers, formerly Sports Direct, already owns House of Fraser, Game, Jack Wills and Evans Cycles, and is the largest shareholder in Boohoo – though that relationship has been frosty. Last year, Frasers used its voting power to block Boohoo’s attempt to rename itself Debenhams Group. But the approach to Hugo Boss marks a different strategy for Ashley’s empire, which has a reputation for swooping on distressed retailers rather than profit-making brands.
The offer comes as Frasers’ chief executive Michael Murray, Ashley’s son-in-law, sits on Hugo Boss’s supervisory board. Frasers said Murray “did not participate in the board’s discussion of, or decision to make, the offer”.
Ashley, who left school at 16 and opened his first sports shop in Maidenhead in 1982 with £10,000 from his parents, is now worth £3.44bn according to the Sunday Times Rich List released last month. He retains a 73% stake in Frasers Group, which has a current market value of £3.45bn.
Hugo Boss, founded in 1924, is one of Frasers’ top five brands. The takeover would add a premium fashion house to a portfolio that already spans high street and luxury, cementing Ashley’s presence on both sides of the market.