Agent Provocateur attracts interest from wealthy individuals and sovereign wealth funds - report
03 JAN 2017
The potential sale of the UK-based lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur has attracted interest from wealthy individuals and sovereign wealth funds, according to a Financial Times report. The newspaper cited a person familiar with the potential sale for the information. The article did not name any potential bidders.
Agent Provocateur’s owner, the private equity firm 3i [LON:III], is thinking about selling the business, the item said. As previously reported, the restructuring specialist AlixPartners is advising 3i on options to improve Agent Provocateur’s performance. 3i is thinking about either an outright sale or securing new investment while retaining a minority interest in the retailer, the article added.
3i has hired investment bankers at Rothschild to work on a potential sale process for Agent Provocateur, the report continued.
Rothschild refused to comment on its involvement, while AlixPartners was not immediately available for comment, the article said.
Background:
A Sunday Times report on 1 January cited one retail source who estimated that Agent Provocateur might fetch as little as GBP 15m (EUR 17.6m) in a sale.
A Sunday Times report on 1 January cited one retail source who estimated that Agent Provocateur might fetch as little as GBP 15m (EUR 17.6m) in a sale.
This news service reported on 10 April 215 that 3i had postponed a sale of Agent Provocateur following a strategic review conducted by the investment bank Goldman Sachs.