LONDON (Reuters) - Buyout house Cinven (CINV.UL) is to buy London-based shoe company Kurt Geiger as it seeks a share of Britain's 8 billion-pound footwear market, the private equity firm said on Monday.
Following an auction of the business, Cinven will pay 245 million pounds including debt for the company, a source familiar with the matter said, noting the deal valued the business at eight times its trailing core earnings (EBITDA).
Founded in 1963, Kurt Geiger is known for its glamorous footwear. Its current "face" is supermodel Lara Stone.
It was previously part of the Jones Group, which was delisted by Sycamore Partners for $2.2 billion (£1.4 billion) including debt in 2013. In January Coach (N:COH) bought the Jones Group's Stuart Weitzman, the shoe firm.
The acquisition of Kurt Geiger is the latest in the shoe sector. In 2014 Labelux listed Jimmy Choo (L:CHOO), while Permira (PERM.UL) bought the maker of Dr Martens the year before.