M and M trade sale puts end to IPO plans

The discount online apparel retailer had been looking into an IPO on the junior AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and expected to achieve a market cap of £140-170m. Cannacord and Investec were said to be advising on the float.

New owner Bestseller markets its products in Europe, the Middle East, Canada and India, with more than 3,000 stores in 38 countries. Bestseller's products can also be found in 12,000 department stores and concessions in 53 countries worldwide.

Previous funding
TA acquired M and M in November 2007 in a secondary buyout from ECI Partners. The deal, said to be in the region of £90m, was supported by a £30m debt package provided by Barclays and mezzanine funding worth £10m from TA's mezzanine fund, according to unquote" data.

ECI backed M and M's management buyout in 2004. The sale to TA earned ECI a 4.4x money multiple and a 59% IRR, according to unquote" data. ECI grew the company's revenues to £80m per annum while expanding into Europe, and launching websites in Germany, France, Denmark, Poland and Austria.

Company
Originally launched as an end-of-line sports products clearance retailer, M and M is a pan-European online discount apparel outlet. It offers sportswear and fashion items for men, women and children from brands such as Adidas, Fred Perry, Ted Baker and Timberland. It has 50 million website visits per year from its 1.3 million active customers.

Headquartered in Leominster and founded in 1987, M and M generates £120m of turnover with an EBITDA of £10.5m. It has approximately 600 employees.

People
Former John Lewis online boss Jonathon Brown is CEO of M and M, while Alan White, former CEO of N Brown, is chairman.

Advisers
Equity – Canaccord Genuity (Corporate finance); Macfarlanes (Legal).

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• Topics
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• TA Associates
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