The US private equity firm that pushed Ted Baker into a formal sale process is no longer in the running to take over the business.
Sycamore Partners, which made two overtures to the fashion retailer, valuing it at £254m, has stepped back from its bid. The sale process has since attracted interest from other suitors.
Authentic Brands, a $12bn business set up by Canadian Jamie Salter, is now thought to be the front-runner for Ted Baker’s 550 stores and concessions.
The retailer said that since interested parties had performed due diligence it had received “a number of revised non-binding proposals” and the board had selected a “preferred counterparty to take forward”. It added that the “process is likely to take several weeks” and there was still no certainty that an offer would be made.
