Frasers Group has withdrawn its intention to acquire Revolution Beauty, the company has said in a statement.
Just last week, the London-based retail giant was said to be weighing up an all-cash deal at a cut-price for Revolution, which has seen its share price drop from 25p to 7.69p in the past year.
With today’s announcement, its shares have dropped even further, sitting at 6.2p at 8:20am – a dip from the 7.78p it stood at at the close of play yesterday.
The London-headquartered firm had a market cap of £500m at the time of its IPO in 2021, but this now sits at £21.66m, with the company expecting to report FY25 underlying adjusted EBITDA of between £6-6.5m.
It has confirmed that it is still continuing to ‘have constructive engagement with a number of other interested parties’.
“Current discussions may be altered or terminated at any time and, accordingly, there can be no certainty that an offer will be made for the company, nor as to the terms on which any offer may be made,” the company said in a statement published on the London Stock Exchange.
“In parallel, the company is also continuing its positive engagement with its shareholders, including in respect of an equity raise.”
Frasers Group’s decision to not swoop for Revolution means it won’t add the firm to the growing list of retail brands which it owns.
The company, which was founded by former Newcastle United chairman Mike Ashley, owns companies including House of Fraser, Sports Direct and Evans Cycles, as well as stakes in THG, ASOS, Hugo Boss and Currys.
It also has stakes in Boohoo, despite Ashley having been involved in a well-publicised feud with its chairman, Mahmud Kamani.
Boohoo, now known as Debenhams Group, owns a 27.09% stake in Revolution but it now looks as though Frasers Group will not be joining it as a shareholder.