Richemont wants to gain full control over Yoox Net-a-Porter

Swiss luxury group Richemont proposed to obtain a majority stake in online retailer Yoox Net-a-Porter. The move is a way to implement its online strategy faster.

Board will remain

Richemont currently has 49 % of Yoox Net-a-Porter’s shares, but would like to increase that to at least 90 % and then delist the company. It has offered 38 euro per share, more than 25 % above the share’s price on Friday.

The online group’s current CEO, Federico Marchetti, has already accepted the offer, but will stay on after the acquisition. Richemont has also stated that Yoox Net-a-Porter will continue to operate as an independent company after the deal. “We are very pleased with the results achieved by Yoox Net-a-Porter group’s management team, led by Federico Marchetti, and we intend to support them going forward to execute their strategy and further accelerate the growth of the business”, Richemont chairman, Johann Rupert, said.

Richemont has recently turned its attention to online sales, because it has noticed that customers are willing to buy expensive products online, a trend other luxury brands have also observed. A Yoox Net-a-Porter acquisition would go a long way to achieving its goal in the online world. The company recently revealed a record 2.1 billion euro turnover in 2017, up 11.8 % compared to the year before.