The Very Group submitted a takeover proposal for N Brown shortly before the Simply Be and Jacamo owner accepted a deal from a member of its founding family.
The online department store is understood to have made a preliminary approach to buy the listed ecommerce group several weeks ago, Sky News reported.
Sources said the offer was below the 40p per share bid that N Brown non-executive Joshua Alliance put forward this week.
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The recommended £191m offer sent shares in the group soaring 40% to 38p a share as the market reacted to the news.
News of an offer from Very Group comes as the online retailer enlisted Barclays, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley to manage a strategic review that could result in a sale of the business.
N Brown shareholder Frasers Group, which owns a 20.3% stake, backed the Alliance family’s acquisition of the business and said it “looks forward to a strategic relationship” with Joshua Alliance.
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