Acquisition completed after hiccup
Beatties shareholders have given the acquisition by House of Fraser their seal of approval at an extraordinary general meeting today.

Shareholders agreed for the company to be sold to HoF at 168p a share, 3p above the present price and giving a market capitalisation of£68.6 million.

House of Fraser announced its interest in Beatties 12-strong store portfolio on June 20. At the time, HoF chief executive John Coleman said: 'This is a significant and exciting step in House of Fraser's growth story. The addition of the Beatties stores will add 653,000 sq ft [60,665 sq m] of profitable retail space, strengthening House of Fraser's nationwide coverage.'

However, the acquisition has not been smooth sailing. Beatties revealed on July 6 that it had received interest from a third party, after press speculation that Debenhams might launch a counter-bid.

Debenhams refused to comment on the matter and on July 22 the third party withdrew, still unnamed, leaving shareholders free to consider HoF's offer.

Topics