Fosun joins Tom Tailor management in buying 23pc of German firm

A 23.16 per cent stake in Frankfurt-listed German clothing company Tom Tailor has been bought by the Tom Tailor management and Hong Kong-listed investment firm Fosun International.

The deal makes Shanghai-headquartered Fosun and the Tom Tailor management the biggest combined shareholder in the loss-making German company.

Although Fosun declined to reveal how much it invested in Tom Tailor, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported the 23.16 per cent stake was sold for €87.5 million (HK$908 million).

The acquisition will be completed "shortly", after which Tom Tailor's free float will remain at 76.84 per cent.

Fosun acquired its stake in Tom Tailor through its subsidiary Fidelidade-Companhia de Seguros, the largest Portuguese insurance firm. The previous owner of the 23.16 per cent stake in Tom Tailor was a Liechtenstein company, Versorgungs und Förderungsstiftung.

This is Fosun's fifth overseas investment since May, when it bought 80 per cent of three Portuguese insurance firms, including Fidelidade, for a total cost of €1.04 billion.