Richemont has finally struck a deal to offload its troubled online business, Yoox Net-A-Porter, to Mytheresa in exchange for shares in the German e-commerce company.
The deal, which comes 10 months after a previous plan to sell YNAP to rival Farfetch collapsed, will see no cash change hands. Instead, Richemont will take a 33% stake in Mytheresa, which also sells luxury goods online, in exchange for transferring YNAP, along with its existing cash balances and access to a six-year debt facility.
Richemont, which is chaired by South African billionaire Johann Rupert, said it will have to take another write-down of €1.3-billion on YNAP, which never lived up to its promise of transforming online sales for the Cartier owner. YNAP, which owns brands such as Net-A-Porter and Mr Porter, racked up losses as customers shunned shopping online for expensive goods in favour of buying in stores.
Richemont had previously struck a deal to sell YNAP to Farfetch but that share transaction fell apart after the online luxury retailer’s share price collapsed amid mounting losses.
Richemont’s stake in Mytheresa will be subject to a one-year lock-up period following the closing of the transaction, which is expected in the first half of 2025, the companies said. The deal won’t require shareholder approval from either side.
Mytheresa, which has American depositary receipts trading in New York, has a market capitalisation of about $368-million. The deal will see Mytheresa take on YNAP’s €555-million in cash and its €100-million revolving credit facility.
The transaction gives Richemont the opportunity to “retain some exposure to online multi-brand luxury retail without operational control”, RBC Capital Markets’ Piral Dadhania said in a note to clients. — Andy Hoffman, (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP