Trading firm Li & Fung has agreed to take over American branded goods producer Oxford Apparel in a US$121.7 million deal, which will enlarge the group's portfolio in the United States.
Li & Fung executive director Bruce Rockowitz said yesterday the deal would fill the missing piece of the jigsaw of the portfolio, which at present consists only of women's and children's wear.
It is one of the group's biggest acquisitions in the US.
'The Oxford deal opens a whole new area for us,' Rockowitz said in an interview yesterday. 'It is a higher-margin business than the sourcing ones.'
The deal will see Li & Fung take charge of designing, distributing and branding Oxford Apparel's branded and private label products including men's dress shirts, sports shirts, casual slacks, outerwear, sweaters, jeans and swimwear and western wear.
The products are sold in department stores and through catalogue and online retailers in the US.