Green and Hunter discuss Allders & HoF merger
Hunter raises stake in Allders
December 24 2002
Terry Green and Tom Hunter opened talks last week over a merger of department store chains Allders and House of Fraser, according to news agency Reuters.
Green is to become chief executive of Allders following the takeover which has been agreed with the store group’s major shareholder, property company Minerva, while Hunter has tabled a bid for the rival House of Fraser chain.
Reuters quoted an industry source who said that Hunter had approached Green, and a preliminary meeting had left open the door to discuss the idea further. “Nothing is agreed. They have left open the possibility to talk about this at a later stage.”
Hunter has raised his stake in Allders to 3.9 per cent. His bid for House of Fraser has been rejected by the board, and he has agreed to postpone any further action until after the Christmas trading period.
The logic of a merger between Allders and House of Fraser has long been recognised in the increasingly competitive UK department store sector, and the two groups have held discussions in the past. It would, of course, be open to Green to approach HoF chief executive John Coleman to reopen the negotiations if Hunter’s bid is unsuccessful.
