Fashion giant Zalando is set to snap up German online fashion rival About You in a €1.1bn (£906m) deal in an attempt to “better serve the needs of customers”.
Zalando announced today that it has entered into a “definitive business combination agreement” with the platform and intends to submit a voluntary public tender offer to acquire 100% of its share capital.
About You’s major shareholders Otto Group, Otto Family, Heartland and the current About You management team have entered into an agreement to sell their shares, which represent around 73% of About You’s share capital, as part of the deal by accepting the public offer or separately to Zalando.
Zalando is offering €6.50 (£5.36) per share of the business, representing a 12% premium on the current stock price and a premium of 107% to About You’s three month average share price to date.
It is understood that the transaction will be complete in the summer next year subject to “relevant regulatory approvals”.
About You is said to “welcome the strategic transaction” and the fashion retailer’s three founders and management board members, Sebastian Betz, Tarek Müller and Hannes Wiese, are expected to continue in their current roles under the new ownership.
Zalando co-chief executive and co-founder Robert Gentz said: “Redefining fashion and lifestyle shopping by creating the best possible experience for customers and partners has always driven both our teams. I’m excited about how together we’ll be able to cover a larger share of the fashion and lifestyle market.
“In B2C, we can offer customers and brands distinct and rich shopping experiences. In B2B, combining our complementary software capabilities, Tradebyte and SCAYLE, will create an even more advanced e-commerce operating system that enables brands and retailers to manage their multi-channel business across Europe and beyond.”
About You co-founder and co-chief executive Tarek Müller said: “We are thrilled to team up with so many brilliant entrepreneurial colleagues and together move the success stories of Zalando and About You to the next level.
“This transaction creates something truly unique, with two distinct and independent B2C businesses serving the specific needs of their customers. At the same time, the complementary strengths of the B2B businesses will seamlessly align to deliver a comprehensive and optimized offer for clients in logistics, software and services.”
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