Frasers Group has extended its £166 million takeover offer for Australian footwear and lifestyle retailer Accent Group until 30 September, without changing its initial A$0.65-a-share bid.
The offer had initially been due to close on 30 July.
Accent shareholders now have until the close of ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) trading at 4pm Sydney time on 30 September to sell into the offer, unless Frasers extends or withdraws it. The Sports Direct and Flannels owner said no other terms had changed.
Frasers made an unconditional, all-cash bid on 15 June, seeking to acquire every fully paid Accent share outside the holdings it and its associates already have. It held approximately 22.9% of Accent when the offer was announced, making it the Australian company’s largest shareholder.
The bid for the remaining shares was valued at approximately A$316 million (£166 million). Accent operates close to 900 stores across Australia and New Zealand, including multi-brand footwear retailer Platypus Shoes, and is Frasers’ partner for the regional Sports Direct rollout.
Accent board continues to oppose the bid
Accent’s Independent Board Committee continues to oppose the offer and has unanimously recommended that shareholders reject it, with the committee describing the bid as “opportunistic and materially inadequate”. Frasers’ A$0.65 offer matched Accent’s closing share price on 12 June, the final trading day before the bid was announced, and therefore included no premium.
Accent also pointed out that Frasers paid A$1.718 per share under a subscription agreement in May 2025. Its on-market buying in February 2026 averaged more than A$0.92 per share.
The committee said the bid did not capture Accent’s 2030 Strategic Growth Plan, which has targets of at least A$1.9 billion in sales and an EBIT margin of about 9%. The retailer plans to expand its estate to approximately 950 stores by 2030.
Frasers maintains its takeover activity
The extension follows Frasers lifting its stake in German premium fashion company Hugo Boss to 30.28% two days earlier, a level that took it past the mandatory bid threshold under Germany’s takeover rules.
Its €38-per-share Hugo Boss offer remains unchanged, with the initial acceptance period due to end on 27 July. Hugo Boss’ management and supervisory boards have advised shareholders to reject the bid as inadequate. Frasers has previously confirmed that its €38-a-share offer is final.
Fraser had been steadily building up its stake in the German luxury brand over the last six years.
Frasers has also begun a share buyback programme through newly appointed joint broker Panmure Liberum. Under the arrangement, the broker may acquire up to 10 million Frasers shares for a total of no more than £80 million before the group’s next annual general meeting, expected in mid-September.