Frasers Group’s €2 billion bid for Hugo Boss is now unconditional, following approval by the European Commission.

With the final regulatory hurdle for the deal settled, Hugo Boss shareholders now have until 13 August to consider Frasers Group’s offer, which would see the retail giant pay €38 per share.

On Sunday, the Times reported that Frasers Group is looking to install its chief executive Michael Murray as the new Hugo Boss chief executive.

Hugo Boss has urged its shareholders to reject the deal. In a reasoned statement published 9 July, the firm’s chief executive Daniel Grieder said the company has a “well-defined strategy, a strong financial profile, and a compelling path to superior long-term value creation,” which Frasers Group’s offer does not reflect.

“Following a comprehensive and independent review, we have concluded that the offer price is financially inadequate and fails to appropriately reflect Hugo Boss’s value and future potential,” said Stephan Sturm, chairman of the supervisory board of the luxury fashion brand.

Frasers Group kicked off its €2 billion takeover bid for Hugo Boss in June in an attempt to add the luxury fashion firm to its existing brand lineup including Sports Direct, House of Fraser, and Evans Cycles.

Reuters reported that Frasers Group’s stake in Hugo Boss now exceeds 30 per cent, the threshold for a takeover bid under the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act.

In parallel with its Hugo Boss bid, Frasers is also understood to have joined the bidding war for high-end department store Harvey Nichols. Sky News reported that the group has until 28 July to submit its formal bid, in competition with Next.

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