Hugo Boss jumps as Frasers launches €2 billion takeover bid
BUZZ-Hugo Boss jumps as Frasers launches €2 billion takeover bid Updates share move, adds Frasers shares and analyst comments
** Shares in Hugo Boss BOSSn.DE jump 6.2% to €38.72 after Frasers Group FRAS.L launched a €2 billion takeover offer for the German fashion group
** Frasers, the biggest shareholder in Hugo Boss with a 26.06% stake, is offering €38 ($43.8) per share in cash for the remaining shares, a 4.3% premium to Wednesday's €36.44 closing price
** Frasers shares fall 2.5%
** Jefferies says the offer is ostensibly to improve Frasers' investment flexibility rather than an intention to take full ownership, given the limited premium, explicit support for incumbent Hugo Boss leadership, and disclosure that the offer was made to facilitate further investment
** The brokerage expects Frasers investors to be more positively inclined to this interpretation, recognising the considerable requirement in terms of both cash and management bandwidth that a deal of this scale would absorb
** "We believe that the €38 offers a floor to valuation in the near term, but further upside is uncertain," J.P. Morgan says
** JPM also says it does not see other obvious parties stepping in with a counter-bid
** The Hugo Boss stock, which has gained 7.3% YTD including Thursday's rise, tops Germany's mid-cap index .MDAXI
($1 = 0.8662 euros)
(Reporting by Ozan Ergenay)