Yoox, Net-A-Porter Announce All-Share Merger to Forge High-Fashion Powerhouse The two companies counted combined net revenues of $1.4 billion last year, and, moving forward, will complement one another's respective strengths.
By Geoff Weiss
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The Yoox Group, a global online retailer that operates high-fashion ecommerce sites including yoox.com, thecorner.com and shoescribe.com, has announced plans to merge with rival Net-A-Porter in an all-share deal. Bloomberg pegged the purchase price at $775 million.
The news arrives on the heels of reports last week that Amazon was in talks to acquire Net-A-Porter in a bid to foray into luxury retail.
The new company will be called Yoox Net-A-Porter Group and will tout more than 2 million consumers and over 24 million unique monthly visitors, according to a press release. All told, Yoox and Net-A-Porter counted combined net revenues of $1.4 billion last year.
Related: Staples Agrees to Buy Office Depot for $6.3 Billion, Creating an Office-Supply Behemoth
As part of the deal, Richemont, which owns Net-A-Porter, will receive 50 percent of the merged company's shares, 25 percent of its voting rights and two of a minimum of 12 board members.
Additionally, Federico Marchetti, Yoox's founder and CEO, will serve as CEO of the new group, while Net-A-Porter founder Natalie Massenet will serve as executive chairman.
Following the completion of the deal, which is expected to close in September 2015, the company plans to raise $200 million in capital to fund growth.
Related: 'Anti-Ball Crushing' Pants Are Putting Lululemon on the Menswear Map
"Today, we open the doors to the world's biggest luxury fashion store," Massenet said in a statement. "It is a store that never closes, a store without geographical borders, a store that connects with, inspires, serves and offers millions of style-conscious global consumers access to the finest designer labels in fashion."
While Yoox and Net-A-Porter initially broached a merger in 2013, those talks eventually stalled, according to Bloomberg. The two companies' respective strengths would serve to galvanize one another, according to the release, including Net-A-Porter's editorial expertise via its magazine, Porter, and Yoox's web agency proficiencies, as the developer of the official online shops for brands like Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and more.
Additionally, while Net-A-Porter chiefly vends in-season designer duds, several of Yoox's sites sell off-season gear at discount prices.
Related: These High-Tech High Heels Change Color With the Click of an App
