Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group in talks to buy Debenhams

Bloomberg

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group Plc is in last-ditch talks to buy the ailing Debenhams department store in a move which could save thousands of jobs.
The owner of the Sports Direct brand confirmed it was in negotiations in an emailed statement and said “we hope to be able to save as many jobs as possible” at Debenhams, one of the UK’s most iconic retail brands.
News of Ashley’s interest comes just a few days after Debenhams said it could have to liquidate the business after talks with JD Sports Fashion Plc ended. Debenhams has been struggling for many years, weighed down by costly stores with hefty rents and large property taxes.
The failure of Debenhams, which employs 12,000 people, capped a terrible week for British retail after Philip Green’s Arcadia Group, the owner of the Topshop and Dorothy Perkins brands, filed for insolvency putting 13,000 jobs at risk.
Debenhams has 124 stores, all rented, and if a deal is completed Frasers could operate them on a 12-month license while determining how many stores could be saved, said a person familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified as the matter is confidential. Debenhams declined to comment on the talks with Frasers Group.
The person said any deal with Frasers would have to be better than the liquidation value of Debenhams and negotiations with FRP Advisory, the administrator that has been in control of the department store since April, were likely to center on a value of around the 280 million pounds ($376 million).
Frasers shares climbed 36% in the past six months, more than twice the gain in the FTSE All-Share General Retailers Index.