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Frasers Group PLC on Wednesday said it does not intend to make a takeover offer for Mulberry Group PLC, a day after the latter called a sweetened bid ‘untenable’. Sports Direct owner Frasers, which itself has a stake in the AIM listing, noted the rejection, having proposed to pay 150 pence per Mulberry share. Mulberry shares fell 8.7% to 105.00 pence each on Wednesday afternoon in London, giving it a market capitalisation of around £74.0 million. Frasers shares were 0.5% lower at 806.00p each. The bid had implied a Mulberry valuation of £111 million. It put a value of £72 million on the chunk of Mulberry that Frasers does not already own. It was chunkier than a 130p per share bid tabled previously. ‘Having considered the response announcement, and in the absence of proper engagement from the Mulberry board on the possible offer, Frasers is choosing to bring the offer period to an end, enabling fuller engagement with both Mulberry and Challice on a range of topics, including those raised in this announcement. Frasers therefore confirms it does not intend to make an offer for Mulberry,’ the company said. On Tuesday, Mulberry had said: ‘The board is unanimously of the view that the possible offer is untenable and that the company should focus its attention on driving the commercial performance of the business.’ Mulberry, the Somerset, England-based handbag maker, had said it had also considered the ‘clear position’ of its largest shareholder Challice Ltd, that it will not support the offer. Challice has a 56.4% stake in Mulberry. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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