A Cinderella Story: In Search For The Perfect Shoe Owner, JAB Looks For Jimmy Choo And Bally Buyers

The owners of JIMMY CHOO PLC JYMHF, creators of the shoes made famous by the late Princess Diana and those stiletto-strutting sirens on “Sex and the City,” are searching for a suitor.

Shares of the stock were up 10.43 percent on Monday at $2.43 and up more than 10 percent to 185.50 on the London Exchange after the announcement by JAB Holding Co., which is also seeking a buyer for Bally International, another dealer in high-end shoes and accessories.

The Search Is On

"The Board of Jimmy Choo announces today that it has decided to conduct a review of the various strategic options open to the Company to maximise value for its shareholders and it is seeking offers for the Company," read the official announcement.

The statement said the shoemaker’s plans were in line with the goals of JAB Luxury, the company's majority equity investor with 67.66 percent of the shares. JAB intends to concentrate on its food and coffee empire; it agreed earlier this month to buy U.S. bakery Panera Bread Co PNRA for $7.5 billion.

JAB, run by the Luxembourg-based Reimann family, bought Jimmy Choo for 540 million pounds in 2011 ($800 million at the time) and took it public in 2014. Its stock has grown 44 percent since the IPO.

JAB owns 100 percent of Bally International, which the firm says it is also seeking to unload.

“This is credit positive for JAB because cash proceeds from the sale of both companies, but especially Jimmy Choo, which is already listed and has a higher asset value than Bally,” Moody’s Corporation said in a statement.

Jimmy Choo reserves the right to alter or terminate the formal sale process at any time, Moody’s said. But the shoe company has performed well because of strong sales and improving market fundamentals for the luxury goods market in general.

“We consider disposals of JAB’s luxury business make sense as they do not offer the same cost synergy advantages as the company’s other businesses in the fast-moving consumer goods sector, nor have they provided JAB with any dividend income.

Related links:

Panera Bread Plans To Add 10,000 Delivery Jobs In 2017