// Frasers Group has increased its stake in Asos once again, as the fashion company continues to struggle
// The etailer is currently in the process of overhauling its business, with its shares recently hitting a 12 month low
Frasers Group has upped its stake in Asos as the online retailer continues to struggle.
The Mike Ashley-owner retail group has increased its stake from 7.4% to 8.8%. This is up from 5% in October last year.
Asos shares recently hit a 12-month low, and it was booted off the FTSE 250 index.
Over the weekend, it was reported that the retailer received a £1bn approach from Turkish online retailer, Trendyol, late last year.
The deal would have valued the company at between £10 and £12 per share, significantly surpassing its current value of £3.50.
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With its share price languishing, Asos has been identified as vulnerable to a takeover.
Over the weekend, The Telegraph reported that Frasers Group has been angered by Asos executives after its offer to help the struggling retailer was rebuffed.
Frasers CEO Michael Murray contacted the senior executives last month, offering to help the retailer, which was due to refinance loans, for an additional 5% in the online retailer.
Frasers insisted this did not constitute a takeover attempt, however, the Asos board did not see it that way and two days later revealed it had refinanced with Elliott-backed lender Bantry Bay and was raising an additional £75m from investors via a share placing.
The fundraising was supported by the retailer’s largest shareholder, Bestseller CEO Anders Holch Povlsen, and its second largest, Camelot Capital Partners, however Frasers Group was left in the dark.
The newspaper said that in the aftermath, Frasers sent a letter to the firm that asked: “What was the thinking and decision making behind the refinancing of Asos’s existing RCF with an expensive loan and the selection of a lender backed by Elliott?”
It is unclear what has stimulated Frasers Group’s latest share build in the online retailer.
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