// Central Group has denied agreeing a sale for department store chain Selfridges, following media reports
// According to reports, the process could drag on until the end of the year
Thai conglomerate Central Group has today denied the raft of media reports that announced it had purchased Selfridges from the Weston family.
In a statement to the President of the stock exchange of Thailand, Yol Phokasub, Central Group CEO said: “Pursant to the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s request to Central Retail Corporation Public Company Limited for clarification regarding news stories by The Times and Brand Inside on 2 December 2021 reporting that Central Group is preparing to purchase Selfridges; the company would like to clarify that the company is not currently involved with the transaction reported in the news.”
According to media reports in June, the Weston Family were reported to be considering a £4 billion sale of the department store retailer, which would include branches of Selfridges in Birmingham and Manchester, as well as Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Dublin.
READ MORE:
- Selfridges owners agree £4bn sale to Thailand’s Central Group
- Thai-based conglomerate enquires about $4bn sale of Selfridges
According to The Times, which first reported the deal yesterday, the process could drag on until the end of the year but terms were agreed in the last few days.
However Selfridges has declined to comment.
Central Group is a family-owned conglomerate that started in Bangkok but went global when the founder’s son, Samrit Chirathivat, opened Thailand’s first department store in 1956.
It now has 3,700 shops around the world, from supermarkets to electronics outlets, and department stores in Europe, including the La Rinascente, Illum and KaDeWe chains.
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