Mr Price defends purchase of European retail chain

Durban, KZN, SA – Mr Price Group last week defended its decision to buy European retailer NKD Group following criticism by a major shareholder and a fall in share price. On 11 December, 360NE Asset Management wrote: “South African retailers have failed countless times overseas and given the financial history of this acquisition target, Mr Price at least owes its shareholders a detailed explanation before proceeding with the transaction…

“South African retailers have a terrible history of value destructive offshore acquisitions. The worst of these deals share the following characteristics: overvalued, debt-financed, significant size relative to the acquirer’s market capitalisation, underestimating future capex requirements, limited understanding of local markets and competitive dynamics as well as acquiring assets with poor returns on capital. Unfortunately, given the publicly available information, it seems as though Mr Price’s proposed acquisition of NKD shares many of these traits.

The board has a fiduciary duty to shareholders and should explain why this is not the case for the NKD acquisition.”

In its reply, Mr Price said “the Group … wishes to re-affirm the strategic rationale for the Transaction and the detailed due diligence process undertaken as articulated in the Announcement, and would like to reiterate that the information disclosure constraints at this time are due to the Transaction being subject to the fulfilment of suspensive conditions, as well as disclosure considerations in terms of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements. While the Transaction is contractually complete, closing of the Transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals, which are the subject of the suspensive conditions.

“Management and the board of directors remain excited about the opportunity that NKD presents to the Mr Price Group and looks forward to sharing further insights in due course. The Group intends to host a capital markets event to provide further detail regarding value retail in Europe, NKD’s positioning and expected medium to long term performance. The Group remains committed to complying with all necessary disclosure considerations and as such, the date of this event is subject to receiving regulatory approvals and securing closing certainty, but is anticipated to be in the latter part of the first quarter of 2026, ahead of the Group’s mandatory year-end reporting closed period.

Shareholders are advised that, as required by applicable regulations, NKD has filed its FY2024 audited financial statements in the ‘Bundesanzeiger’.

“Extensive effort is being made to progress all regulatory and other closing requirements, and the Group remains committed to transparent disclosure and regular engagement with all stakeholders. The Group appreciates the understanding and support of its shareholders and looks forward to sharing more information in support of this carefully considered Transaction in due course.”