Boohoo reportedly buys PrettyLittleThing outright in a deal worth £329 million

Boohoo reportedly brought PrettyLittleThing outright in a deal potentially worth £329 million. This comes after the brand faced conflict of interest criticisms from a powerful stock market investor.

Shadowfall, who bets on share prices falling, had criticised the amount of money Boohoo was likely to have to spend on buying out PLT’s shareholders, who include Umar Kamani, son of the Boohoo founder and chairman Mahmud Kamani. Boohoo bought its initial 66% of PLT from Kamani in 2017 and the has proved a success, but eyebrows have been raised over how it manages the conflict of interest with the founding family.

Shadowfall had claimed the eventual cost to Boohoo of the buyout could be almost £1 billion and said Boohoo may have to use £200 million of funds recently raised from shareholders to pay for it.

Boohoo have also reportedly said that it would pay an initial £269.8 million plus a further £54 million if Boohoo’s share price averaged 491p between completion and March 2024. Kamani and his fellow PLT shareholders will be getting £161.9 million in cash, with the rest in Boohoo shares. Boohoo will issue £54 million of new shares to fund the latter element.