Authentic Brands Group the frontrunner to land Hunter Boot

Authentic Brands Group, parent of Ted Baker and Reebok, is reported to be in pole position to land British wellington boot specialist Hunter.

According to Sky News, the acquisitive American group is in the final stages of agreeing a deal, which could be in the region of £100 million.

However China's BaoZun, which runs Gap's franchise in China, is also set to be circling and would are ready to swoop should a deal with Authentic Brands Group (ABG) not come off.

Hunter Boot has been on the market since February when it secured an additional £7 million of funding from shareholders and lenders to position it for sale. Restructuring experts AlixPartners have been working with the company on the sale process.

The historic company, which holds two Royal Warrants and is also a favourite among celebrities, was last saved at the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020 through a £16.5m capital injection, part of which came from Pall Mall Legacy. Pall Mall is currently the majority shareholder with Searchlight Capital Partners and brand group Pentland also holding stakes.

Hunter was founded in 1856 and was originally known as the North British Rubber Company. Sales in the firm were said to have picked up post-Covid after the cancellation of big live festivals, such as Glastonbury where its boots were a favourite among festival-goers, hit its sales.

Authentic Brands Group has been hoovering up brands of late. Last August is acquired British fashion brand Ted Baker for £211 million and earlier in 2022 it acquired both Reebok and David Beckham's DB Ventures. Just last month it acquired the intellectual property of American brand Vince after it ran into financial difficulty.

Former Hunter Boot CEO Paolo Porta has been named as new CEO for luxury leather and stationery brand Smythson. He had been CEO since March 2021 and prior to that was interim CEO.