Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest said his private company bought bootmaker R.M. Williams from a fund backed by French fashion giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, reported Reuters.
In a statement, the Fortescue Metals Groupfounder and major shareholder said he was “incredibly proud and humbled” to bring back the manufacturing icon which had “a long and proud history of high-quality Australian craftsmanship.”
Forrest did not disclose a price but the Australian Financial Review reported it was about AU$190 million (US$100 million). That would represent a mark-down from the roughly AU$500 million (US$352 million) that local media reported was R.M. Williams’s valuation when LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton put the asset up for sale in 2019.
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