Farfetch acquires a 47.5% stake in Yoox Net-A-Porter

Retail platform Farfetch announced on Wednesday that will acquire a 47.5% stake in the fashion retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP), part of Richemont’s group. Businessman Mohamed Alabbar will hold 3.2% through his investment vehicle Symphony Global.

According to a statement released today, the carrying value of the investment ” will be written down to the expected fair value less costs to sell, resulting in a non-cash charge to Richemont consolidated income statement estimated at €2.7 billion.”

This deal also features a call option mechanism between Farfetch and Richemont, paving the way for José Neves’ company to acquire the remaining shares in Yoox Net-A-Porter.

The “announcement is a significant step towards the realisation of a dream I first voiced in 2015 of building an independent, neutral online platform for the luxury industry that would be highly attractive to both luxury brands and their discerning clientele,” says Johann Rupert, Chairman of Richemont, quoted in the statement.

Farfetch and Richemont advanced significantly our Luxury New Retail vision for the digitization of Luxury. This significant partnership unequivocally establishes Farfetch as a pre-eminent global platform for luxury,” explains José Neves, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Farfetch.

YNAP is an online luxury and fashion retailer, with a diversified offering including multi-brand in-season online stores Net-A-Porter and Mr Porter, and multi-brand off-season online stores YOOX and The Outlet.