Superdry reportedly in talks with US investor to go private

Struggling British retailer Superdry is believed to be in talks with the owner of Oak Furnitureland, Davidson Kempner, as it reportedly looks for options to take the business private.

The US investor is understood to be one of the parties that has been approached by Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton, according to Sky News, who is attempting to secure an offer for the retail chain amid a turbulent financial period.

The media outlet, which did not cite a particular source, said that discussions were in the preliminary stages, with no guarantee of an agreement being ultimately reached.

Another potential party said to be in talks with Dunkerton and referenced by Sky was Retail Realisation, a firm backed by turnaround investor Rcapital.

It follows the news that Dunkerton was mulling possibly buying out a majority stake in Superdry, building on the just under 30 percent of shares he already owns.

This came despite the retailer implementing a currently ongoing turnaround strategy after seeing a streak of falling sales over the past year, a sentiment that continued into its most recent half-year update when sales fell 23.5 percent.

As a result, earlier this month, Dunkerton confirmed that the company would be exploring a possible buyout, appointing advisors to oversee the process and assess cost-saving options while engaging with potential financing partners.