UK-based fashion retailer ASOS had secured a takeover bid from Turkish online retailer Trendyol, British daily newspaper The Times reported.

The newspaper reported that Trendyol, which approached ASOS in December 2022, offered between £10 and £12 for each share of the retailer.

As per Bloomberg’s calculations, this price would give ASOS an estimated value of between £1.2bn and £1.4bn.

The Turkish retailer reportedly approached ASOS’ largest shareholder Anders Holch Povlsen, a Danish billionaire who holds a 26% stake in ASOS.

Trendyol is backed by China’s Alibaba and is said to have been working with Morgan Stanley advisers.

There are currently no ongoing talks between Trendyol and Asos.

For the six months to 28 February 2023 (H1 FY23), ASOS saw its revenue decline by 7% to £1.84bn and reported a loss before tax of £290.9m.

The troubled online fashion retailer also reported adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) loss of £69.4m in H1 FY23.

Following the bid alert, its shares closed at £3.50 on Friday. The company was valued at more than £7bn two years ago.

In October 2022, UK-based retail company Frasers Group raised its ownership in ASOS to 5.1%, making it the online retailer’s fourth-largest shareholder.