UK fashion retailer Next pulls out of joint bid for Topshop-owner Arcadia

(Reuters) – Next Plc said on Thursday it had pulled out of the bidding for brands owned by British tycoon Philip Green’s Arcadia Group as it was unable to meet the price expectations of the collapsed fashion chain.

“Next plc announces that it has withdrawn from the process to acquire any, or all, of the Arcadia Group from the Administrator,” the company said in a statement.

The retailer had launched a joint bid in December with American investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management to gain control of the Arcadia Group.

Next’s withdrawal may clear the way for Chinese retailer Shein to buy Topshop for more than 300 million pounds ($411.57 million), Sky News said in a report earlier. (https://bit.ly/2Y3Iv6g)

Other bidders for Arcadia include Boohoo Group, Asos Plc and Authentic Brands Group, which is working with JD Sports Fashion, according to Sky News.

Topshop and Topman owner Arcadia went into administration in November, putting over 13,000 jobs at risk and becoming Britain’s biggest corporate casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reporting by Ann Maria Shibu in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)