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The retail billionaire Mike Ashley has given the latest indication that his summer shopping spree may be far from over, after he increased his stake in luxury giant Hugo Boss to nearly half.
Ashley’s Frasers Group, which last week bought Harvey Nichols department stores for a reported £40m, increased its shareholding in the German fashion house to 48%, falling just short of taking full control.
In June, the British billionaire made a nearly €2bn (£1.73bn) takeover offer for the luxury group, but its board rejected Frasers’ bid as “inadequate” and urged shareholders not to accept Ashley’s offer.
The new, higher stake comes after 17.6% of shareholders accepted Ashley’s offer of €38 per share. That bid reflected only a 4% premium to Hugo Boss’s shares when it was tabled.
Despite this, Axel Rudolph, an analyst at investing platform IG, said it was “another major step towards gaining control” of the German company. Ashley’s new shareholding puts Frasers “firmly in the driving seat as it looks to increase its influence,” he added.
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