THG’s shares have surged by more than a third after the online retail platform revealed it has received a preliminary buyout proposal from private equity firm Apollo Global Management.
THG, formerly The Hut Group, did not disclose terms of the proposal in its statement, which added that global asset management business Apollo must announce a firm intention to make an offer by May 15 or walk away.
Apollo, which has around $550bn of assets under management, announced the opening of a new London office earlier this month as it seeks to strengthen its presence in Europe.
Manchester-based THG is an e-commerce retail and technology company headquartered which sells own-brand and third-party cosmetics, dietary supplements, luxury goods, and licensed and personalised products online, as well as providing a range of digital, creative and technology services. It is due to publish its full year results to 31 December 2022 later this week, alongside its trading statement for the first quarter of 2023. In a January trading update THG reported record sales in 2022.
THG first floated in 2020 with a share price of 500 pence. Its shares peaked at 796.2 pence in July 2021, but started to fall in the autumn of that year. THG took a number of cost-cutting measures to reassure investors over the course of 2022.
London-listed THG’s shares were up around 40 per at 93.3 pence as of 11am GMT.
