Private equity giant TPG Capital Management LP is in talks to buy Australian bootmaker R.M. Williams from French fashion giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE <LVMH.PA>, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported on Wednesday.
The U.S. buyout specialist is conducting "late-stage due diligence" and trying to secure financing for a deal that would value the 88-year-old Australian manufacturer at more than A$250 million, the AFR said.
Representatives of TPG and LVMH in Australia were not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.
A sale at the price quoted by the AFR would be a mark-down from the roughly A$500 million that was widely reported in Australian media as being R.M. Williams's valuation when LVMH, via its investment arm L Catterton, put the asset up for sale in 2019.
However, fashion retailers around the world have experienced a sharp decline in sales since the COVID-19 outbreak prompted border closures and stay-home orders as governments attempted to slow the spread of the virus.
Also in Australia, LVMH-backed swimsuit maker Seafolly Pty Ltd appointed administrators in June citing a sales downturn from the coronavirus.
(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
