L Capital Asia trains its sites on Australian R.M. Williams

By

Florent Gilles

Published
Mar 29, 2013

L Capital Asia Fund, a company that invests in established brands in the Asia Pacific region to promote their local development, is reported to be in talks with the Australian group R.M. Williams.

The current owner of the group founded in 1932 announced in the press this week that he was looking for an investor to support the international development of the bush outfitter “heritage” brand that started out with handmade cowboy boots.

A source to the Wall Street Journal has meanwhile revealed the identity of two funds competing to buy in – the investment arm of LVMH Group and the Malaysian group YTL Corporation. Neither party has confirmed their involvement in the discussions.

According to the U.S. newspaper, a half interest in the Australian company is valued at around 60 million U.S. dollars and the agreement should be concluded at the end of April. R.M. Williams distributes several brands together with its eponymous label in 15 countries, including Germany, Japan, the U.S. and the U.K. where they have a flagship in London.