It Is Said That Li Ning'S Acquisition Of Clarks Will Cost 100 Million To 150 Million Pounds

Recently, according to fashion business express, Lion Rock capital, a private equity firm in Hong Kong, China, is negotiating to acquire less than 50% of the shares of Clarks, a 100 year old British shoe brand, with a capital of about 100 million to 150 million pounds. In addition, alteri investors is also involved in the bidding. The negotiation results are expected to be available before the end of this month.

The twists and turns on the road of the epidemic situation, all industries in this road, are not very smooth, and have been hit hard. With the current situation of the epidemic has become stable, the performance of many brands has begun to recover gradually, showing a good development trend, but some brands are still difficult to recover.

It is understood that the spread of the global epidemic, Clarks brand hit is also very big. From the operating conditions of Clarks in recent years, the performance of Clarks has been unsatisfactory. In 2018, its annual loss reached 31 million pounds, and in 2019, the loss continued to expand to 82 million pounds, once in financial distress.

The financial turmoil that has not yet subsided, the Clarks brand is even more unbearable in the event of another epidemic this year. Before the outbreak, the brand said it would close a large number of stores over the next five years. With the acceleration of the epidemic, Clarks has made a lot of layoffs this year.

It is reported that at present, the overburdened Clarks is obtaining funds through a rescue agreement led by Lion Rock, a private equity fund in Hong Kong, China, to conduct the turnover operation of the group. If the deal goes through, it also means Clarks' majority stake will be abandoned.

It is worth noting that the founder of lane capital, Jiang Jiaqiang, mainly focuses on Internet enterprises, and is not "cold" in the field of fashion. According to last year, the chief financial officer of the private equity group, Li Feng, has been established in August. According to Li Ning, the founder of the group, is Li Ning's official website.

From the above information, the "arrows" point to Li Ning one after another. Therefore, many people speculate that Li Ning is the real inspiration behind Lane capital's acquisition of the equity of Clarks, a 100 year old British shoe brand.

In May, Li Ning acquired about 1.093 billion shares of Hong Kong clothing retailer Bossini Fort Shilong, and the joint shareholding ratio of Li Ning and others was 66.6%. If Li Ning takes over the majority stake of Clarks again this time, it also means that Li Ning's internationalization process will be accelerated again.

However, according to Clarks's current financial situation, the group's performance is in a state of continuous decline, and the progress after the acquisition needs to continue to be concerned.