Richemont sells YNAP to MyTheresa parent, takes stake in new venture

Richemont has agreed to sell its Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) business to MYT Netherlands Parent BV, parent of luxury e-commerce platform MyTheresa, in exchange for a stake in the new entity.

As part of the deal, Richemont will sell YNAP with a cash position of €555 million (US$609 million) and no financial debt. In return, MyTheresa will issue shares to Richemont, representing 33 per cent of its fully diluted share capital.

Richemont also agreed to provide a six-year revolving credit facility of €100 million to finance YNAP’s general corporate needs.

The transaction aims to create a multi-brand digital luxury group offering the most prestigious brands and products to customers worldwide, the companies said in a statement.

MyTheresa plans to integrate YNAP’s luxury division into its current business and form one group with three distinct storefronts: MyTheresa, Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter. The three brands will share a large part of their infrastructure to create synergies while maintaining their distinct identities.

Meanwhile, the Yoox and The Outnet operations will form an off-price division, which will be separate from the luxury division for a simpler and more efficient model.

YNAP’s white label division will be discontinued after the Richemont Maisons’ online stores powered by YNAP migrate to their own chosen platforms.

“MyTheresa is ideally placed to build on YNAP’s assets to further delight customers and brand partners alike across the world by harnessing both companies’ respective strengths,” said Johann Rupert, chairman of Richemont.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of next year, subject to customary conditions.

Richemont expects the write-down of YNAP net assets to amount to approximately €1.3 billion.

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