German online fashion giant Zalando has successfully acquired more than 90% of the share capital of its competitor, About You, in a public takeover bid.
The figure does not include shares already held by About You. In December 2024, Zalando disclosed its intention to purchase About You for €1.2bn ($1.3bn) and subsequently initiated a voluntary public tender offer to acquire up to 100% of the company’s share capital.
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The deadline for accepting the takeover offer expired at midnight (Central European Time) on 6 March 2025, with Zalando planning to declare the final outcome of the takeover bid on 11 March.
The completion of the takeover offer is pending regulatory consent and set to close in the summer of 2025.
Zalando intends to buy out the remaining minority shareholders of About You by implementing a squeeze-out procedure and providing a fair cash compensation to be determined later.
The management board of About You has been notified of Zalando’s intentions.
The squeeze-out is planned in conjunction with a merger in which About You is absorbed by Zalando or one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries unless Zalando achieves a 95% ownership threshold that would allow for a direct squeeze-out without the need for a merger.
In either scenario, Zalando will offer adequate cash compensation to acquire the remaining shares of About You.
The specific cash compensation per About You share will be established at a future date. For fiscal year 2024, Zalando reported a gross merchandise volume increase of 4.5%, reaching €15.3bn ($16.51bn) and a revenue growth of 4.2%, amounting to €10.6bn.
