Shareholders of Australian apparel retailers Myer, Premier approve merger

Myer Holdings

23/01/2025 03:01

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Shareholders of Australian apparel
retail firms Myer  MYR.AX  and Premier Investments  PMV.AX 
approved on Thursday the merger of the latter's apparel brands
with Myer, in a deal valued at A$864 million ($541.99 million).
    More than 96% of votes cast by Myer shareholders favoured
the combination, while over 99% of votes approved the merger at
Premier's meeting.
    The merger will see the 125-year-old Myer take on Premier's
denim, womenswear, and casual apparel brands such as Just Jeans
and Dotti, Jay Jays, Portmans, and Jacqui E, expanding its
footprint to more than 780 stores across Australia and New
Zealand.
    Retail billionaire Solomon Lew, Premier's top shareholder,
will emerge with the biggest chunk in Myer following the
transaction, controlling around 27% stake.
    The merger culminates a long-running battle between Lew and
Myer that began when Premier started buying the department
store's shares in 2017. 
    Lew has been a fierce critic of Myer and its previous board
and management team, and blamed them for the retail chain's
underperformance.
    Premier already owns around 31% stake in Myer.
    Shares of Myer jumped 2.8% to A$0.930 on Thursday, while
those of Premier slipped 1.7% to a one-week low of A$26.60.
    
    
   ($1 = 1.5941 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
 ((Sameer.Manekar@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/sameer_manekar))