UK's N Brown agrees to $249.3-mn takeover by Alliance family member

The decision is aimed at unlocking N Brown’s growth potential by transitioning the company to private ownership. N Brown has been a public company for over 50 years.

Shareholders will receive 40 pence per share in cash—a significant premium over recent trading prices, with an alternative to receive unlisted shares in Bidco.

“The combined impact of recent macroeconomic headwinds, capital structure changes and reduced appetite for UK small-cap stocks have significantly reduced liquidity, with resultant impacts on N Brown's share price,” the filing noted.

“More recently, the business has faced more challenging market conditions and the impact of cost-of-living pressures that have been evident in customers' buying behavior,” it added.

Founded by Nathan Brown in 1964, the company was bought in 1968 by the Alliance family. N Brown owns brands like JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo.

Joshua Alliance, who is a non-executive director of N Brown, already owns 6.6 per cent of the company, while the other members of the Alliance family, including Lord Alliance, own a controlling 53.4 per cent stake. Mike Ashley’s Frasers owns 20.3 per cent of N Brown.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)