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(Alliance News) - Next PLC on Friday said it agreed to substantially boost its interest in the Reiss Group, buying an extra 21% stake for GBP128 million.
Leicester, England-based clothing, footwear and home products retailer Next said it and the Reiss family will acquire the entire 34% interest in Reiss, the London-based fashion brand, from Warburg Pincus LLC, a private equity firm headquartered in New York.
Next will buy 21% of the stake, increasing its interest to 72% from 52%, while the Reiss family will acquire the remaining 13% and increase its stake to 22%. The Reiss management team will hold the remaining 6%.
Next said it expects the acquisition to complete in mid-October this year. Following completion, it will consolidate Reiss's results into its own accounts. Reiss will continue to retain its own board, with Chief Executive Officer Christos Angelides retaining his post, and its online operations remain contracted to Next through Total Platform, Next's suite of online infrastructure services.
Next does not expect the acquisition to materially impact its underlying pretax profit or earnings per share in its current financial year. However, it will book a non-recurring, non-cash exceptional gain to reflect the increased value of its stake in Reiss and the latter's consolidation into its accounts.
Next said the transaction follows a period of "strong continued growth" for Reiss. In the year ended January 28, the brand increased its total annual sales by 26% to GBP324.6 million. Pretax profit increased 51% to GBP51.6 million.
"Reiss has performed exceptionally well since we first invested in March 2021," said Next's CEO Simon Wolfson.
"This success has been driven by the strength of its brand, first class management and the benefits of Total Platform; we look forward to continuing to develop the business with Christos and the Reiss team."
Shares in Next were up 1.0% at 7,060.00 pence in London on Friday.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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