(Reuters) – Shareholders of Australian clothing retailer Myer and Premier Investments on Thursday approved a merger of the latter’s clothing brands with Myer, in a deal valued at A$864 million ($541.99 million).
More than 96% of the votes of Myer’s shareholders favored the combination, while more than 99% of the votes approved the merger at the Premier meeting.
The merger will see 125-year-old Myer take on Premier’s denim, womenswear and casual wear brands such as Just Jeans and Dotti, Jay Jays, Portmans and Jacqui E, expanding its footprint to more than 780 stores across Australia and New York. Zealand.
Retail billionaire Solomon Lew, Premier’s largest shareholder, will become the largest shareholder in Myer after the transaction, controlling around 27% of the stake.
The merger culminates a long-running battle between Lew and Myer that began when Premier began buying shares in the department store in 2017.
Lew has been a fierce critic of Myer and its previous board and management team, blaming them for the chain’s poor performance.
Premier already owns around 31% of Myer.
Myer shares jumped 2.8% to A$0.930 on Thursday, while Premier shares slipped 1.7% to a one-week low of A$26.60.
($1 = 1.5941 Australian dollars)
