SAMSONITE International is considering options after receiving takeover interest from suitors including buyout firms, sources familiar with the matter said.
The Hong Kong-listed luggage maker is working with advisers as it studies possibilities including going private, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the information is not public. It has held preliminary discussions with a select group of suitors, according to the sources.
Shares in Samsonite surged as much as 14 per cent in Hong Kong on Tuesday (Feb 27), the most since August 2022, following the Bloomberg News report. Its market value surged to about HK$37 billion (S$5.4 billion). Some private equity firms have been studying a deal for Samsonite with the idea of acquiring the company and later relisting it in another market – like the United States – at a higher valuation, the sources said.
Deliberations are ongoing, and there’s no certainty Samsonite will decide to move forward with a transaction, according to the sources. A representative for Samsonite declined to comment.
Samsonite, based in Mansfield, Massachusetts and Luxembourg, traces its roots back to 1910 and is known for the durable suitcases sold under its namesake brand. It also sells luggage and other travel accessories under brands including American Tourister, Tumi and High Sierra.
The company went public in Hong Kong in 2011 at a time when a number of Western consumer-goods makers, such as L’Occitane International and Prada, were looking to tap affluent customers in China. However, Samsonite has not been able to gain traction among investors in the Asian financial hub and last year studied the possibility of a second listing in the US, Bloomberg News has reported. BLOOMBERG
