Billionaire Brett Blundy has sold his stake in footwear retailer Accent Group
Brett Blundy has sold his Accent stake for $160m to Frasers Group to give the British company a strong position in the nation’s largest footwear retailer.
Billionaire retailer Brett Blundy has cashed in his entire stake in footwear chain owner Accent Group for $160m, handing the biggest stake in the company to Britain’s Frasers Group.
The publicly listed Frasers, which is the world’s largest owner and retailer of sports, premium and luxury brands (including Sports Direct, House of Fraser, Flannels, Gieves and Hawkes, Everlast and Slazenger), has now seized a foothold in Accent, which owns The Athlete’s Foot, Hype and Platypus.
It is not known whether Frasers will use its newly acquired 14.7 per cent stake in Accent to launch a full takeover bid, but a purchase of the entire company has become cheaper after Accent disappointed analysts with its full-year results last week, sending its share price crashing almost 18 per cent.
On Wednesday Accent announced Frasers Group had acquired a strategic shareholding in Accent from Mr Blundy’s BBRC International, which raised $165m for the billionaire. The move has seen him exit the share register.
Mr Blundy remains a director of Accent, but the company said he would retire from the board “in due course” while board representation would be offered to Frasers.
Mr Blundy sits atop a sprawling retail empire and is also the major shareholder and chairman of jewellery retailer Lovisa.
In a statement to the ASX, Accent said it had been engaged in discussions with Frasers Group for some time in relation to a strategic relationship and other opportunities.
“The Accent board welcomes Frasers Group to Accent’s share register, and looks forward to working with them. Consistent with these strategic discussions, Accent intends to offer Frasers Group the opportunity to propose a director to join the Accen board,” it said.
Accent chief executive Daniel Agostinelli said he was impressed by Frasers’ management team and believed there was a strong cultural alignment between both organisations.
“We see the potential for significant mutual opportunity with Frasers Group, and are excited by the beginning of this new relationship between the organisations,” he said.
Michael Murray, CEO of Frasers Group, said: “This investment is an exciting step in the expansion of our international footprint, which is a key growth driver for the group. Accent has built an incredible ecosystem of sports and lifestyle brands in Australia and New Zealand. We are looking forward to working with the Accent management team to unlock mutually beneficial opportunities for both groups.”
It isn’t the first foray into Australia for Frasers. It bought failed sneaker business Sneakerboy in 2022 but less than seven weeks after buying it Frasers Group Australia was itself placed in administration after a key supplier agreement was terminated.
Shares in Accent were unchanged Wednesday, at $2.03. The share price is down 4.3 per cent in the past 12 months.
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