Sports Direct owner Frasers launches €1.98bn takeover offer for Hugo Boss

The offer

Frasers Group, the parent of Sports Direct, announced on Wednesday a voluntary public takeover offer for all outstanding shares of Hugo Boss. It is offering €38 per share in cash, valuing the remaining equity not already owned at approximately €1.98bn (£1.73bn). The offer values the entire German menswear firm at about €2.7bn ($3.1bn), including the stake Frasers already holds.

Hugo Boss is a key brand partner for Frasers, and one of the top five brands across the Frasers Group.

The bid follows years of stake-building. Frasers first invested in Hugo Boss in 2020 and has since accumulated roughly 26% of the shares. It also holds a significant number of stock options that, if exercised, would push its holding above the 30% threshold mandating a full takeover offer.

Premium and market reaction

The €38 bid represents only a narrow premium to Hugo Boss’s closing price of €36.44–€36.46 on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange the same day. The company’s shares traded above €60 for much of 2023 before declining. No shareholder recommendation has yet been issued.

Governance and management support

Michael Murray, Frasers’ chief executive, is a member of Hugo Boss’s supervisory board. Frasers stated that Murray did not participate in the board’s discussion of or decision to make the offer. The British group expressed support for the current leadership of Hugo Boss, including supervisory board chair Stephan Sturm and chief executive Daniel Grieder, and said it would continue to invest in the brand’s sustainable growth strategy.

Financial backdrop

Hugo Boss reported a net profit of €249m in 2025. Frasers, whose financial year ended 30 April, posted net profit of £292.1m (€339m). The offer is subject to regulatory approvals and Frasers expects it could close in the second half of 2026. Frasers has a market capitalisation of about £3.45bn.