Former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group plc is back on the hostile takeover trail with plans afoot for a £166 million hostile takeover of Australian footwear and apparel retailer Accent Group.
Ashley’s retail group, which has been locked in a longrunning dispute with the board at boohoo, where it is the largest shareholder, has also been critical of Accent, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, in which it already holds a 23% stake.
Accent operates more than 800 stores across Australia and New Zealand under the brands Hype DC, Platypus, Skechers and The Athlete’s Foot.
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Frasers said it has appointed Barrenjoey Markets Pty Limited as a broker to acquire on its behalf all Accent Shares at the closing price of A$0.65 before 30th July. Its shares have dropped massively from $1.67 in August last year.
Christopher Wootton, Frasers’ director on the Accent board, has reportedly criticised Accent chairman Lawrence Myers and its management team for presiding over a 40.5% decline in net profit after tax in the first half of FY26 alongside various other negative metrics.
The company’s recent remuneration report saw 82% of shareholders vote against it while there is an ongoing insider-trading investigation involving Accent’s chief executive Daniel Agostinelli, according to reports in Australian media.
The Accent board urged shareholders to take no action after Frasers signalled its intent.
Last week Frasers Group made a £1.7bn bid to buy Hugo Boss. The fashion and sportswear group, which already owns 26% of the German fashion giant, said it is offering to pay about €1.98bn (£1.73bn) for the remainder of the business to take full control.
The offer would mean Frasers – which also owns Sports Direct – paying €38 a share to investors in the fashion company. The bid follows speculation in recent years that Frasers could seek a takeover of the Boss brand, which it first invested in in 2020, having steadily built up its stake in a familiar tactic which has previously seen Frasers acquire significant holdings in the likes of Studio, Missguided, N Brown and boohoo.
