House of Fraser is in talks with Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group, which is eyeing buying the department store group for more than £450m.
Sanpower, which is controlled by multimillionaire former Chinese government official Yuan Yafei, has been in talks with House of Fraser for several months, according to the Financial Times.
The talks could derail House of Fraser’s prospective IPO that had been planned to get away by July this year.
Sanpower is the latest company that House of Fraser has entered discussions with over a potential sale. It has also held talks with French department store Galeries Lafayette and Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley.
If Sanpower presses ahead with an acquisition of House of Fraser it is expected to be made through one of the many companies it owns, which includes shopping centres in China.
However, House of Fraser is running a dual-track process with Rothschild, HSBC and Numis advising on its IPO.
Initial meetings with potential investors have been “positive”, according to the Mail on Sunday.
House of Fraser is owned by a number of investment groups including representatives of the Icelandic banks that took control of failed Icelandic investor Baugur.
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