Pursuits
Truworths to Buy Office Retail of U.K. in $385 Million Deal
- South African clothes chain in new foray outside continent
- Office management to take 11% stake; can cash out in 3 years
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Truworths International Ltd. agreed to buy a majority stake in U.K. shoe chain Office Retail Group Ltd., the company’s first move into Europe and the latest in a string of international acquisitions by South African retailers.
The deal values Office at 256 million pounds ($385 million), with the management team reinvesting a portion of its sale proceeds and retaining an 11.1 percent shareholding, Truworths said in a statement on Monday. The Cape Town, South Africa-based company has the right to buy the stake in three years to five years. The main seller in the deal is London-based private equity firm Silverfleet Capital.