Ray Kelvin, founder of Ted Baker, backs Sycamore Partners bid

Ray Kelvin, the founder of British high-street clothing brand Ted Baker, has supported a proposed buyout of the brand by New York-based private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Kelvin founded the fashion and lifestyle retailer in 1988 under the name of his alter ego and exited the firm in March 2019, though he still retains an 11.5% stake in the retail firm. According to the Sunday Times, Kelvin believes that the American investor can inject the necessary funds into the enterprise to revive its fortunes.

In March 2022, Ted Baker rejected two unsolicited bids from Sycamore Partners, which valued the retail firm at 254 million pounds ($331.04 million), reporting that it felt better positioned as a PLC to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the private equity firm came back with a third bid, and having received another unsolicited proposal; the high-street retailer formally put itself up for sale this month after agreeing with the UK Takeover Panel that any discussions in relation to an offer for the firm may occur within the context of a formal sale process to enable conversations with parties interested in making such proposals to take place confidentially.

It has been reported that Ted Baker’s board would only accept an offer above 310 million pounds ($404 million).