Frasers Group in £1.7bn bid to take control of German fashion label Hugo Boss

Frasers Group, the retail empire controlled by tycoon Mike Ashley, has moved to take full control of German fashion label Hugo Boss.

Frasers announced that it had tabled a £1.7billion cash offer for the 74 per cent of Hugo Boss that it does not already own, saying a takeover would ‘facilitate further investment’ into the company. 

The bid price of €38 per share is a 4.2 per cent  premium to Hugo Boss’s closing price yesterday before the bid was announced.

If the offer is cleared by regulators, Frasers, which already owns 26 per cent of Hugo Boss, said it expected the merger to be completed in the second half of the year.

The takeover attempt on Hugo Boss – where David Beckham is a global ambassador – is the latest in a string of acquisitions that built Ashley’s group into a sprawling retail empire selling wares from sportswear to suits and sofas.

Style icon: The takeover attempt on Hugo Boss – where David Beckham (pictured) is a global ambassador – is the latest in a string of acquisitions for Frasers