News of numerous takeover approaches sounds thrilling but outside investors in THG, formerly The Hut Group, would be wise to contain their excitement. The online retailer’s share price had sunk so low that the company was being valued at half the level of its annual turnover, so it would almost have been odd if nobody wanted to have an exploratory poke around the aisles.
Nor did THG say at what price the “indicative proposals” were pitched, only that the founder and chief executive, Matthew Moulding, and the board thought they failed to reflect “the fair value of the group”. The definition of a fair price in this context is anybody’s guess. THG floated at 500p in 2020 but, even after Thursday’s mini relief rally, now trades at 110p.
