The European Commission (EC) has unconditionally cleared the acquisition by Farfetch of a 47.5% stake in Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP) in exchange for the issuance of Farfetch Class A ordinary shares to Richemont. The EC was the last regulatory authority required to provide clearance.
The partnership between Farfetch and Richemont also involves, 1: the acquisition by Symphony Global, one of the investment vehicles of Mohamed Alabbar, of a 3.2% stake in YNAP, making YNAP a neutral online platform for the luxury industry; 2: the adoption by YNAP and the Richemont Maisons of Farfetch Platform Solutions and; 3: the launch of e-concessions on the Farfetch Marketplace by most Richemont Maisons.
Completion remains subject to certain other conditions that Richemont and Farfetch are working towards fulfilling. A further announcement will be made in due course.
Richemont operates in three business areas: Jewellery Maisons with Buccellati, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels; Specialist Watchmakers with A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis and Vacheron Constantin; and Other, primarily Fashion & Accessories Maisons with Alaïa, AZ Factory, Chloé, Delvaux, dunhill, Montblanc, Peter Millar including G/Fore, Purdey, Serapian as well as Watchfinder & Co. In addition, Richemont operates Net-A-Porter, Mr Porter, The Outnet, Yoox and the OFS division.