Sun European Buys 2 UK Retailers In Boost To Flagging Sector

Sun European Partners on Monday said it has agreed to buy both American Golf, Europe's largest golfing retailer, and clothing retailer Jacques Vert PLC (JQV.LN) in a rare boost to the U.K.'s struggling retail sector.

The private-equity firm is paying 21 pence in cash per Jacques Vert share, a 68% premium to the company's closing price Friday, and valuing the retailer at GBP41.2 million.

Jacques Vert trades under four brands--Planet, Precis, Windsmoor and Jacques Vert--which are sold in around 900 outlets, mostly as concessions within leading department stores, as well as online. The majority of the brands are located within the U.K. but they are also sold in around 30 stores in Canada and in an expanding number of stores in Ireland.

In the year to April 30, 2011, Jacques Vert reported revenue of GBP118.4 million.

"Jacques Vert has a collection of attractive, well-known brands that operate in a growing segment of the retail sector with a stable demographic," said Matthias Gundlach, vice president at Sun European Partners.

"The Company is profitable and has traded robustly through the downturn. This is a space of the retail market that we know very well and we are looking forward to working with the management team and employees to make the business even stronger," he added.

Sun European will likely combine Jacques Vert with the women's retailer Alexon, which Sun bought out of administration a few months ago, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires on Monday.

Sun European also said it has bought American Golf from LDC, the buyout arm of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG, LLOY.LN).

Financial details of the transaction weren't disclosed but a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires that the deal was worth around GBP50 million.

American Golf has 88 stores in the U.K. and Ireland, two online sites and around 760 employees. It sells a comprehensive range of clubs, bags, balls, clothing and accessories supplied by major golf brands, such as Callaway, TaylorMade and Titleist.

LDC acquired American Golf in 2004 and subsequently acquired Online Golf in 2010.

Sun European said American Golf's like-for-like sales are ahead of those from last year and revenue for 2010 amounted to about EUR100 million.

-By Marietta Cauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]