Ted Baker Rises on Report Juicy Couture Owner Nears Takeover

Shares in Ted Baker rose 3.1 percent on Monday following a report that Juicy Couture owner Authentic Brands is the British fashion chain’s preferred bidder and that the two firms could agree on a £300 million ($379.35 million) deal.

Ted Baker put itself up for sale in April, and last week said it had picked a preferred suitor to take forward the process after a flurry of revised proposals.

Sky News reported on Saturday that Authentic Brands has indicated it is willing to pay more than 150 pence per share for the company. At their peak in 2015, shares of Ted Baker were trading at 2,972 pence apiece.

Ted Baker and Authentic Brands did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Known for its suits, shirts and dresses with quirky details, Ted Baker is in the middle of a turnaround plan and had rejected several bids from private-equity group Sycamore before launching the sale process.

Last week, Ted Baker posted a smaller annual loss and pointed to robust sales in the coming months as demand for office and leisure wear rebounds.

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Ted Baker Annual Loss Narrows as Pre-Covid Lifestyles Return

Ted Baker’s underlying pretax loss for the 52 weeks ended Jan. 29 stood at £38.4 million ($48.34 million) compared with a loss of £59.2 million a year ago, with sales in the first quarter of the current year rising 20 percent year-over-year.