Private equity firms Advent International and Leonard Green circle embattled retailer THG

Troubled e-commerce retailer THG is being circled by private equity firms for a potential buyout.

Representatives from Advent International have reportedly visited the firm’s Manchester headquarters while LA-based Leonard Green is understood to have also expressed an interest.

Shares leapt 16 per cent on Friday following speculation about private equity interest in a Betaville blog post.

The Sunday Times reported that sources close to Apollo, another connected firm, was less likely to snap up THG. The newspaper’s sources said the US-based investment management firm was already one of THG’s debtholders.

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THG’s shares have taken a hit of almost 81 per cent, compared to its price one year ago.

It follows a series of bad headlines for the firm, including concerns over its corporate governance, cashflow and the value of its tech arm Ingenuity.

Shares in the firm took a further hit last month when Citi Bank downgraded its profit guidance for the retailer.

The company – which oversees lifestyle brand names such as MyProtein and Cult Beauty – was also affected by headlines surrounding boss Matt Moulding’s mother slamming a journalist for their coverage of her son.

The Sunday Times journalist Oliver Shah was contacted by the billionaire businessman’s mother last month. “Matt Moulding’s mum emailed me last week (really),” Shah wrote in his weekly column at the time.

Shah added: “The Hut Group’s matriarch wanted to know why writers were not more appreciative of her son’s ‘outstanding’ achievements. ‘You must lead very dreary lives in your dead-end jobs,’ she remarked.”

Source: City A.M.

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