March 31, 2015 |
Rumours about Net-a-Porter have f-f-flying. Some that it was being bought out by Amazon, others that it was heading for an IPO (which stands for initial public offering – don’t worry, I didn’t know either). Well, this morning, these rumours have been laid to rest with news that the British etailer is merging with its Italian rival Yoox SpA. Luxury goods holding company Richemont (which owns brands like Dunhill and Cartier) announced this news and that they will own 50 per cent of the company, which will be known as the Yoox Net-a-Porter Group. But Net-a-Porter’s founder, Natalie Massenet, will not be abandoning her baby. No, no. She will be staying on as executive chairman. There’s more to say, about the company trading on the Italian stock exchange, about financial terms, the transaction and shareholders – stuff like that. Frankly, we’re don’t understand any of it. The important thing is that companies are merging. So there you are, Net-a-Porter and Yoox are merging.
By Ted Stansfield
