Yoox Acquiring Net-a-Porter in Luxury Fashion Merger
Posted on March 31, 2015
Yoox and Net-a-Porter are planning to merge. In the merger deal the Yoox Group will acquire the Net-a-Porter Group in an all-share transaction. When the transaction is completed the company will be known as the Yoox Net-a-Porter Group. Richemont, the owner of Net-a-Porter will get 50% off the combined company in the deal, but Richemont's voting rights will be limited to 25%.
Federico Marchetti, founder and CEO of YOOX, will be the CEO of the YOOX Net-A-Porter Group. Natalie Massenet, founder and Executive Chairman of Net-A-Porter, will become the Executive Chairman of YOOX Net-A-Porter Group.
Marchetti says in a statement, "This is a game-changing merger between two pioneering companies that have already radically transformed the marketplace since 2000 and will now shift the industry paradigm once again. Together, we plan to expand on our many combined successes and industry breadth to strengthen partnerships with the world's leading luxury brands and harness a significant untapped growth potential."
The two companies say the combined entity will have over 24 million unique visitors each month. They expect to complete the merger by the end of September providing there are no regulatory approval issues.
Net-A-Porter's editorial content, such its online magazine The Edit, appear likely to continue under the merged entity. Marchetti told the New York Times that he values the editorial at Net-A-Porter. He says, "Editorial content has never been our strength or priority at Yoox. But it is very important for social media, which is driving millennial sales in the e-commerce space."
Here's an interview with Yoox founder and CEO Frederico Merchetti about the merger.