FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Esprit Holdings Ltd plans to buy a US-based or European luxury fashion brand and is currently in 'intensive talks' with 3-4 companies, chief executive Heinz Krogner told Focus-Money magazine.
The company could pay as much as 1 bln usd for an acquisition 'out of our cash flow and our positive account balances, the magazine cited Krogner as saying in an excerpt of an interview to be published tomorrow.
'You can assume that we would prefer buying a high-priced American subsidiary,' Krogner said, while cautioning that 'Donna Karan is not for sale, Ralph Lauren doesn't match us'.
'That's why we are concentrating on European fashion companies, of which currently several are for sale,' he said.
Esprit is a Hong Kong-listed clothing retailer started in 1968 when founders Susie and Doug Tompkins began selling Esprit-branded clothes out of the back of their station wagon in San Francisco. maria.sheahan@thomson.com mas/jrr COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.