RE: For Sale Sign?20 Oct 2024 13:59
Wow it's nice to see an actual proper debate on here for a change.
To throw another couple of thoughts into the debate.
1. I don't think the Kamanis and the BoD are as powerless as is being suggested. Adding up all the shares they own and the EBT shares they control, then their stake is probably very similar to Frasers. One of the things that was interesting about the BWNG sale was the emergence of a concert party only being revealed after the event. It wouldn't entirely surprise me if that was also the case here.
2. We need to consider what they want to sell Vs what they need to sell to reduce debt and increase investment. They certainly don't need to sell Debenhams and Karen Millen to become debt free. I personally don't think they will sell either in their entirety. What both need is increased management focus. What Boo have proved I think is they don't have the scale or budget to manage thirteen brands. It's still up for debate if they have the scale to manage five.
What I think is the most likely scenario is one smaller brand sale, sale of the London office , and partial spin off of one of Debenhams or KM.
The amount of debt they need to pay off isn't massive in the bigger scheme of things.
UK stocks are massively undervalued, so I'd guess there will be multiple interested parties, as the market is beginning to improve