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UK's ASOS to Sell Topshop to New Joint Venture with Heartland

FILE PHOTO: New employees wait in the lobby on their first day of work at the ASOS headquarters in London April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: New employees wait in the lobby on their first day of work at the ASOS headquarters in London April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo
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UK's ASOS to Sell Topshop to New Joint Venture with Heartland

FILE PHOTO: New employees wait in the lobby on their first day of work at the ASOS headquarters in London April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: New employees wait in the lobby on their first day of work at the ASOS headquarters in London April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo

ASOS has agreed to sell its Topshop brand to a new joint venture to be formed with the holding company of Danish fashion store billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, the British online retailer said on Thursday.
Shares in the company rose 10% in early trading.
Analysts see the sale as a positive for ASOS, which has been struggling with losses and faced intense competition in Europe from the likes of fast-fashion firm Shein.
The group also said it expects its annual sales to be slightly below its previous forecast, but guided adjusted core profit at the top end of market expectations.
ASOS said it expects to get about 118 million pounds ($155 million) in net proceeds from the sale of Topshop and Topman brands to a new joint venture formed with Povlsen's Heartland, which would own 75% of the new entity.
It would use the money to bolster its balance sheet.
A unit of ASOS will hold the remaining 25% of the joint venture.
Heartland, through its unit Bestseller which owns fashion retail brands Jack & Jones and Vero Moda, is the top shareholder in ASOS.
ASOS bought the Topshop brand in 2021 from the administrators of Philip Green's collapsed Arcadia group, along with its Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands for 265 million pounds.
Topshop set up a joint venture with upscale US department store operator Nordstrom in 2012 to grow in the United States. Nordstrom, which held a minority interest in Topshop, will continue to hold a minority stake as part of the new JV.

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Sources: Shein Weighs Sale of Less Than 10% of Company in London IPO

A mannequin with a Shein sign stands in an office of a lingerie maker at WeMet Industrial Park, in Guanyun county of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo
A mannequin with a Shein sign stands in an office of a lingerie maker at WeMet Industrial Park, in Guanyun county of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo
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Sources: Shein Weighs Sale of Less Than 10% of Company in London IPO

A mannequin with a Shein sign stands in an office of a lingerie maker at WeMet Industrial Park, in Guanyun county of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo
A mannequin with a Shein sign stands in an office of a lingerie maker at WeMet Industrial Park, in Guanyun county of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo

Fast fashion retailer Shein is considering asking UK regulators to waive listing rules that require at least 10% of its shares to be sold to the public in its planned London flotation, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The company is exploring this option to facilitate its IPO, one of the people said, according to Reuters.
If granted, it would likely be the first time that a company in London has been allowed to list below the recent 10% rule.
Singapore-headquartered Shein, which sells $5 tops and $10 dresses mostly made in China, in June filed confidentially with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for a London listing.
However, Britain's financial regulator is taking longer than usual to approve its application, Reuters reported last week.
The people declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Shein declined to comment.
Shein was valued at $66 billion in a fundraising round last year. A 10% flotation at that valuation would make the IPO worth $6.6 billion. The biggest European IPO this year was perfume and fashion company Puig's $2.9 billion deal, according to Dealogic.
The current valuation of Shein and how much it is looking to raise via the London listing was not immediately known.
London changed its listing rules in 2021 to boost the attractiveness of the venue for companies. It cut the proportion of shares an issuer is required to float to 10% from 25%, reducing potential barriers for large IPOs, the FCA said at the time.
In July, Britain ushered in the biggest reform of company listing rules in more than three decades to help it compete more effectively with New York and the European Union for new issuers.
Shein began to explore a listing on the London Stock Exchange early this year, Reuters reported in May, citing sources. The China-founded company's original plan to list in New York was derailed after opposition from US lawmakers.
Shein is also waiting for China's securities regulator to approve its plans for a London IPO, Reuters previously reported. Its revenues are expected to hit $50 billion this year, up 55% from 2023, according to Coresight Research.