Australian marketplace Mysale rejected a takeover bid by Frasers Group, which already owns a 29% stake in the company.
The British retail conglomerate, which owns brands such as Sports Direct, Flannels, House of Fraser, Missguided, and Studio Retail, offered to buy remaining shares for $15.4 million and valued all of MySale’s equity at $21.6 million.
The offer did not “reflect an adequate value or premium for control of Mysale and therefore undervalues Mysale and its prospects,” Mysale noted.
Frasers’ acquisition effort came on the heels of Mysale’s less-than-impressive earnings report. The company’s gross merchandise volume was down 34% year-on-year, while was revenue was down 45% for the quarter that ended August 30, 2022.
The takeover would have allowed Frasers’ to expand its business in Australia and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. It would have also helped its portfolio of brands leverage Mysale’s clearance channel to reduce their excess inventory.
Mysale also announced that the company’s non-executive chair, Carl Jackson, was immediately stepping down from his position “as a result of conflicts arising in his role as a director” and “his personal position as a substantial shareholder.” Jackson, who had been with the company since 2009, supported Frasers’ attempt to take over the company.
