Kitty buys French frame firm
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
KITTY Little Group, the USM- quoted sunglasses and air fresheners group, is paying Fr75.2m ( pounds 8.9m) for L'Amy, France's biggest maker of spectacle frames, whose brands include Nina Ricci, Lacoste, Ted Lapidus and Chevignon.
The deal, foreshadowed in April, marks a large expansion for Kitty Little, which is valued at pounds 8m. Last year it made pre-tax losses of pounds 245,000 on sales of pounds 4m. Turnover at the loss-making and debt-laden L'Amy was pounds 67.5m.
Kitty Little, which proposes to change its name to Eyecare and seek a full listing, is financing the cash purchase with a placing of 29.8 million shares at 30p by Credit Lyonnais Laing. It is also raising pounds 9.5m with a further placing and open offer of 30.6 million shares at 30p. The shares have been suspended at 41p since April pending details of the L'Amy deal.
Martin Franklin, chairman, said the deal was a key step in building a leading European eyecare business.
Mr Franklin, 29, joined as chairman last December. Together with his father, Roland Franklin, former managing director of the collapsed Keyser Ullman merchant bank, he took part in the pounds 700m takeover of DRG, the Sellotape and Basildon Bond group, in 1989. The Franklins' backers made a loss on the subsequent break-up.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments