Japan-based conglomerate holding company SoftBank has agreed to sell its shares in e-commerce company The Hut Group (THG) to the retailer’s co-founder and CEO, Matthew Moulding, and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
Currently THG’s fourth largest shareholder, SoftBank will sell its 80.6 million shares in the company.
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QIA will purchase 67.80 million of the shares, while Moulding will buy the remaining 12.82 million through FIC Shareco.
Reuters reported that the deal will increase Moulding’s direct and indirect holding in THG to 320.9 million shares, representing around 25% of the group’s capital.
The stake is due to be sold on 20 October at a price of £0.39 ($0.44).
Moulding said: “I’m delighted to be further increasing my family’s stake in THG, continuing our unswerving support following on from other recent share purchases.
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By GlobalData“QIA shares the Board’s vision of the scale of opportunity for THG, building a British global success story in large and growing addressable markets.
“I’m incredibly proud of the progress the team continue to make in each of our major divisions, and believe the uncertain macro-conditions provide an even greater opportunity for THG to further disrupt global Beauty, Nutrition and Technology markets.
“We at THG extend our thanks to Softbank for their support as a financial and commercial partner, and we will continue to benefit from the relationships formed across their international technology portfolio.”
The development comes after THG and SoftBank agreed to end their collaboration in July, citing challenging market conditions worldwide.
Founded in 2004, THG owns a number of e-commerce platforms such as Lookfantastic, Glossybox, Zavvi and Coggles, in addition to several beauty and sports nutrition brands.
The Guardian reported that the sale of SoftBank’s stake comes as the company decided to liquidate its internal hedge fund, SB Northstar, which had incurred losses of around $6bn.
