Naked Brand Group announces potential investment of $25 Million from Sapinda Holding B.V.

By

Robin Driver

Published
Aug 28, 2018

Lingerie company Naked Brand Group Limited reported on Tuesday that it has entered into a non-binding term sheet to receive a $25 million strategic investment from Sapinda Holding B.V., owner of La Perla, as the potential partners consider possible operating synergies.

 
If approved and completed, the investment would also provide capital that would be put towards funding strategic acquisitions, as well as Naked’s global e-commerce and direct-to-consumer initiatives.
 
“We have identified several attractive opportunities within the eCommerce and direct-to-consumer space that we believe have the potential to create notable shareholder value over the long term,” said Naked Brand Group CEO Justin Davis Rice in a release. “I look forward to announcing new developments surrounding these strategic initiatives as appropriate.”

In June, Naked completed a merger with intimates brand Bendon, a fact which leads Lars Windhorst, co-founder and CEO of Sapinda, to think that now is the perfect moment to push forward with the company’s development and expansion.
 
“We have been looking at the luxury goods sector for a while and are delighted to have this opportunity to invest in Naked Brand Group,” he stated. “We expect to bring synergies across Naked and La Perla in terms of business intelligence through greater digitalization and shared knowledge across key product categories.”
 
Sapinda was founded in 2009 and specializes in special situation investment opportunities in Europe, Africa, the Middle-East and Asia. The firm acquired 100% of the shares of La Perla parent company La Perla Global Management in February of this year, gaining a global lingerie-focused luxury brand which reported over 140 million euros in annual revenues in 2017.
 
The proposed transaction between the firm and Naked would involve Sapinda making an equity investment in the lingerie group through the private placement of 5 million newly issued ordinary shares for $5 each.
 
The proposed deal also provides for Sapinda to designate one member of Naked’s Board of Directors should it own at least 19% of the company’s total issued ordinary shares. Naked will not issue Sapinda with shares representing over 19.99% of its total issued ordinary shares.
 
Following its merger with Bendon, Naked Brand Group Limited’s portfolio now features a total of 11 company-owned and licensed brands including namesake labels Naked and Bendon, as well as Davenport, Pleasure State and Heidi Klum Intimates.

The company’s products are distributed in 44 countries through 6,000 multibrand retail locations, as well as 61 branded Bendon stores in Australia and New Zealand, and a number of e-commerce platforms.