Myer, Premier Investments shareholders overwhelmingly back tie-up with Solomon Lew’s fashion brands
Myer and Premier Investments shareholders have overwhelmingly backed the department store’s merger with a big portfolio of brands owned by Solomon Lew’s retail empire.
Proxy votes released before the extraordinary meeting on Thursday show Myer shareholders have almost unanimously voted to merge with Premier, with 95.5 per cent voting in favour of the deal that will create a leading retail group with more than 780 stores across Australia and New Zealand and 17,300 staff.
Soon after, Premier revealed 99.8 per cent of its shareholders voted in favour.
The combination will see Myer issue 890.5 million new shares to Mr Lew’s Premier Investments to fund the purchase of its Apparel Brands, which includes Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Jacqui E, Portmans and Dotti.
Mr Lew is also set to return to Myer’s board as a non-executive director while also continuing to hold a 40 per cent stake in Premier.
This new combined group is expected to generate more than $4 billion in annual sales.
Myer executive chair Olivia Wirth in her address on Thursday described the deal as “one of the most significant corporate transactions in the company’s history”.
“Our strategic vision is to create a leading Australian retail platform, by identifying opportunities to deliver a step-change in Myer’s market position and generate substantial strategic and financial benefits to create value for you, our valued shareholders,” she said.
Ms Wirth said the combined group created a more resilient Myer.
“As shown in our trading update released last week, Myer has not been immune from the cost-of-living crunch affecting the broader retail sector and other parts of the economy, both in Australia and around the world,” she said.
“It demonstrates why it is crucial for retailers to continually innovate and evolve to strengthen and grow their businesses.
“And that, in essence, is what today is about — adapting our business to ensure it is best placed to thrive in the years ahead in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving retail market.”
More to come.
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