Joshua Alliance, who is a non-executive director of N Brown, made an offer at 40p per share through the acquisition vehicle Falcon 24 Topco, which represents a premium on the Simply Be and Jacamo owner’s last closing price of 27p and an average price of less than 20p over the past year.
With the Alliance family already owning around 60% of N Brown’s shares, the acquisition is almost certain to succeed.
In a statement, the family expressed concerns about N Brown’s current standing, citing “very low trading liquidity” and limited investor interest in small-cap consumer stocks on the AIM market.
The bid noted that the group is “not benefitting from being listed,” while incurring substantial costs related to its listed status. The group’s independent directors intend to recommend the cash offer unanimously.
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Joshua Alliance has been involved with the Jacamo owner since 2014 and joined the board as a non-executive director in December 2020. His father, Lord Alliance, has a long-standing history with the company, having served as chairman from 1968 until 2012.
As the takeover progresses, the Alliance family aims to leverage N Brown’s established fashion brands and innovative financial services platform to enhance its market position.
Joshua Alliance said: “My family have been supporters of N Brown for over half a century, providing capital and having been involved in the strategic leadership of the business. I am delighted to continue that history.
“This transaction will support N Brown in accelerating its long term growth potential and provide, where needed, access to additional capital, expertise and resource to accelerate the longer term potential of the business. In the business’s current cycle of evolution, we will be able to achieve this growth potential more successfully away from the public markets.
“I am excited about the opportunities created by this portfolio of well-established fashion brands, supported by an innovative financial services platform and its talented executive team and employees.”
N Brown CEO Steve Johnson added: “Today’s announcement from bidco will enable us to accelerate that strategy for the benefit of all our stakeholders. The N Brown independent directors are, therefore, unanimously intending to recommend it to our shareholders.”
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