For a second-tier, teeny fashion chain, Britain’s New Look still seems to be making a big noise amongst the buyout brigade.
While there had been speculation that a sale process, begun in March when current owners Apax and Pemira placed a price tag of £1.8bn on the business, was beginning to fall apart, a company spokesman assured the FT on Monday: “We’ve got interest from multiple parties and the process remains on track.”
A combined team of Warburg Pincus and Texas Pacific Group and solo bidders BC Partners and Landmark Group were said to be in the running.
On Tuesday Financial News reported that a new consortium was about to join the pack, with Goldman Sachs understood to be shepherding the new bidding group. The auction process for New Look would now be extended by two weeks.
“Deal sources said the likely consortium was being put together by hedge funds, similar to the £410m purchase of UK fashion retailer Peacocks by Och-Ziff and Perry Capital in late 2005,” Financial News added. It said Goldman had declined to comment about its involvement, “apart from to say its private equity arm was not involved directly.”