French apparel brands owner SMCP has attracted bids from Lion Capital, Ruyi
21 Jan 2016
Groupe SMCP, owner of contemporary French apparel brands Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, has attracted bids from private equity firm Lion Capital and Chinese textile producer Shandong Ruyi Group, Bloomberg today reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
New York-based private equity giant KKR & Co, which had acquired a 65-per cent controlling stake in SMCP, had last year hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS to review options that could include a flotation on the Paris stock market in 2016 and also a sale.
SMCP, based in Paris, could be valued at more than $1 billion, the report said.
KKR & Co had acquired a 65 per cent stake in SMCP in 2013 from L Capital, a private-equity firm backed by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, in a transaction reported to value SMCP Group at €650 million including debt.
The remaining stake is held by the company's founders and management.
SMCP operates 1,000 stores in 34 countries and has recently added more stores in China, where it generates 10 per cent of its reported annual sales of €316 million ($344 million).