* In talks to buy Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton brands
* ASOS in talks to buy Arcadia's prized Topshop brand
* Boohoo move follows purchase of Debenhams brand
* Boohoo shares up 1.5%
(Adds detail, analyst comment, shares)
By James Davey
LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - British online fashion retailer
Boohoo has entered exclusive talks with the administrators of
Philip Green's collapsed Arcadia group over the purchase of the
Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton brands, threatening thousands
more high street jobs.
A deal for the three brands, which would not include its
stores and staff, could complete the break-up of Green's empire
which fell into administration in November owing creditors
hundreds of millions of pounds and putting more than 13,000 jobs
at risk.
On Monday, Boohoo's rival ASOS said it was
in exclusive talks with Arcadia's administrators Deloitte over
the acquisition of the more prized Topshop, Topman, Miss
Selfridge and HIIT brands.
Sky News has reported that ASOS could pay more than 250
million pounds ($342 million) for the Topshop brand, while
Boohoo would pay about 25 million pounds for the remaining
brands.
Boohoo said on Friday a deal was not guaranteed.
"While not viewed (or priced) as the 'jewels in the Arcadia
crown', Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, and Burton are well-known
brands that in the year to Sep-18 generated a sizeable 580
million pounds of revenue between them," said Jefferies analyst
Andrew Wade.
The administrators sold Arcadia's Evans brand to Australia's
City Chic for 23 million pounds last month.
On Monday, Boohoo bought the Debenhams brand out of
administration for 55 million pounds. The deal excluded
Debenhams' stores and its 12,000 staff. All Debenhams' UK stores
will permanently close this year.
While the internet has been reshaping the British retail
landscape and the clothing sector for more than a decade,
multiple lockdowns to stem the spread of COVID-19 have
accelerated the move to home shopping.
Boohoo has grown rapidly since it was founded in Manchester
in 2006. It bought the PrettyLittleThing and Nasty Gal brands in
2017 and MissPap, Karen Millen and Coast in 2019. Last year it
purchased the Warehouse and Oasis brands.
Shares in Boohoo were up 1.5% at 1057 GMT, extending
year-on-year gains to 12.2% and giving the group a market
capitalisation of 4.3 billion pounds - some 1.4 billion pounds
more than the 137-year-old Marks & Spencer.
($1 = 0.7316 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey
Editing by David Goodman, Kirsten Donovan)
Marks & Spencer (MKS)
ASOS (ASC)