On 8 May 2017, fashion brand Coach issued a press release announcing it has acquired rival Kate Spade & Company:
Coach, Inc. (NYSE:COH) (SEHK:6388), a leading New York design house of modern luxury accessories and lifestyle brands, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Kate Spade & Company (NYSE:KATE). Under the terms of the transaction Kate Spade shareholders will receive $18.50 per share in cash for a total transaction value of $2.4 billion.
In November 2016, a letter from hedge fund Caerus Investors to Kate Spade urged a sale in light of flagging profits:
The letter, which was first reported by Business Insider, came from the New York-based hedge fund Caerus Investors and urged the board to consider a sale.
"We have become increasingly frustrated by management's inability to achieve profit margins comparable to industry peers ... Given the market's lack of faith in the current management team, as evidenced by the 63% decline in the shares since the intraday high on August 11th, 2014, we believe the best path for enhancing shareholder value is to pursue a sale of the company."
In a 8 May 2017 press release, Kate Spade chief executive officer Craig A. Leavitt wrote:
Following a thorough review of strategic alternatives, reaching an agreement to join Coach’s portfolio of global brands will maximize value for our shareholders and positions Kate Spade for long-term success as we continue our evolution into a powerful, global, multi-channel lifestyle brand. We look forward to working with Coach’s leadership team to leverage their expertise across the business as we continue to innovate and build long-term loyalty with consumers and expand across our product category and geographic axes of growth.
This potentially means that fans of Kate Spade can expect fewer opportunities to purchase the brand's wares at deep discounts as engagement with those retail channels narrows.