Sass & bide CEO, David Briskin, said sass & bide will continue to operate separately and retain the ability to harness the creative design and flair that has made the brand so successful to date. “The investment by Myer ensures that we can accelerate our growth domestically, through opening concession stores in Myer, as well as numerous exciting growth opportunities overseas,” said Mr Briskin.
Sass & bide roll-out in Myer stores Myer Group Business Manager, Fashion and Accessories, Judy Coomber, is very excited about attracting the award-winning designers to Myer.
“Sass & bide is one of the most important designer labels in Australia. The label covers everything from the iconic sass & bide jeans to their unique ready-to-wear high fashion range,” said Ms Coomber.
“As with every new label we take into our portfolio it has to fit within our brand hierarchy of Myer Exclusive Brands, Designers @ Myer, National and International Brands and Designer. The inclusion of sass & bide fills a gap in our offer,” she said.
“Sarah-Jane and Heidi will lead the creative direction of the label ensuring that the essence of the brand is maintained. They will play an important role in many of our key events including fashion launches and spring racing.
“We look forward to building on their customer base, by adding Myer's loyal designer customers, who will no doubt enjoy this exciting new brand,” she said.
Sass & bide will be sold in Myer stores as a concession arrangement as this allows the brand to manage its core brand proposition and allows customers to have a true sass & bide experience in our stores.
“We also recently signed exclusive agreements with two well-known and popular Australian designers, Arthur Galan and Simona. Securing these brands further establishes Myer as the premier destination for fashion in Australia,” Ms Coomber said.
Transaction details Under the proposed transaction, Myer will acquire 65 percent of sass & bide for cash consideration of $42.25 million plus a small payment which is contingent upon sass & bide achieving performance targets in its FY2011 financial year. The acquisition is forecast to be earnings per share accretive in the year ending 31 July 2012 and exceed Myer's ROFE targets of twice WACC in year two.
Sass & bide's existing management will continue to operate the business on a day-to-day basis. Myer will have a controlling interest in sass & bide, subject to customary minority shareholder protections. The transaction is expected to complete in April 2011, and is subject to customary transaction conditions being satisfied.
Flagstaff Partners and Clayton Utz acted as advisers to Myer and KPMG Corporate Finance and Arnold Bloch Leibler acted as advisers to the owners of sass & bide.
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