KKR fashion brands likely to be valued at over $1bn

25 Jan '16

2 min read

SMCP, the KKR & Co.-backed owner of French fashion brands Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, has attracted bids from Lion Capital and Chinese textile producer Shandong Ruyi Group. The clothing group could be valued at more than $1 billion in the sale, according to a Bloomberg report.

KKR, which bought control of SMCP in 2013, hired banks last year to consider strategic options including a sale of its stake.

Any deal would add to the $1.7 trillion in consumer acquisitions announced in the past 12 months, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Affordable luxury labels like those owned by SMCP are enjoying surging demand from a growing Chinese middle class and are unscathed by Beijing's anti-graft campaign, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

“There is a lot of competition for these types of (fashion) brands,” Charles Allen, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence in London, said. “Certainly in China it's super competitive, not only with the more recognizable brands such as Hugo Boss, but a whole series of brands you've probably not heard of.”

SMCP, which has more than 1,000 stores in 34 countries, has been on an expansion mode last year, adding 12 new outlets in Asia in the first half of 2015.

The company's sales for the first half of 2015 rose 32 per cent to 316 million euros ($344 million), according to a statement. Representatives for KKR, Lion Capital and Shandong Ruyi Group declined to comment. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India

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