Private Equity News & Analysis

The end for a quoted UK textile sector?

Coats Viyella has been approached by its biggest shareholder about taking the group private.

By
PEI Staff
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Coats Viyella has been approached by its biggest shareholder about taking the group private.

Lord Jacob Rothschild has asked Coats Viyella, the UK's largest quoted textile company, to consider going private. If it agrees, it would mark the end of a significant quoted sector for textile shares in the UK.

The Financial Times reports that Lord Rothchild, Coats' biggest shareholder, wrote to management on Wednesday on behalf of shareholders owning 18% to outline the possibility of delisting the company.

But according to Coats management, the letter did not name a price and did not form a basis for any further talks.

Last month Allied Textile, a Leeds-based competitor, agreed to a £99m management buy-out.