Ted Baker enters formal sale process following takeover offers

Following its rejection of two sales proposals from Sycamore Partners Management, Ted Baker has now announced it will officially be opening itself up to potential takeover bids after seeing a string of interest in the company.

The announcement comes as the British retailer said it had received an improved proposal from Sycamore as well as another unsolicited third party bid interest.

In a statement, the company said: “The board believes the business is well positioned to create significant value for shareholders. Ted Baker is a leading global lifestyle brand and the company continues to make good progress with its transformation.”

Looking for offers that ‘value the full potential of this unique brand’

The decision to go forward with an official sales process followed consultations with the company’s main shareholders in regards to the potential offers, after which the board said it would conduct a “process to establish whether there is a bidder prepared to offer a value” it deemed attractive.

Interested parties can submit their bids on a confidential basis to Ted Baker’s financial advisers, Evercore and Blackdown Partners.

The company further added that it had not yet discussed with Sycamore whether it wanted to participate in the formal sale process.

Ted Baker initially refused a 250 million pound takeover bid by the private equity firm in March 2022, stating that it would deliver value for shareholders “well in excess of the price offered by Sycamore”.

The move comes as Ted Baker continues to report a positive sales growth following the impact of omicron, stating it saw a rise of 35 percent in comparison to last year. It also said that, under its ongoing re-establishment of its brand positioning, it has also seen an improvement in its trading margin.