Jeweller Signet ends preliminary talks with Zale
Reuters via Yahoo! News
By Marc Jones Mon Jun 12, 1:49 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) – British-based jewelry retailer Signet Group said on Monday talks about a possible merger with U.S. rival Zale Corp had ended, having first announced just a few hours earlier that it was having talks.
“Signet confirms that discussions regarding a possible merger with Zale Corp have been terminated,” the company said in a statement after the close of trading in London where its shares ended 2.9 percent higher at 98.75 pence.
Zale shares were 12.3 percent higher at $26.80 by 1730 GMT.
Signet, which runs H. Samuel and Ernest Jones shops in Britain had said in a statement earlier it had held “preliminary discussions with Zale Corp regarding a possible merger,” adding “at this early stage, there is considerable uncertainty as to whether any transaction will be forthcoming.”
The Mail on Sunday newspaper had said that Zale had approached Signet about a deal and that a takeover by Signet of its smaller rival was the most likely outcome.
The United States accounts for three quarters of Signet’s sales. It has more than 1,200 U.S. stores under the names Kay Jewelers and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, with 8 percent of the U.S. market. In Britain it has just under 600 stores.
Zale, which operates about 2,300 stores in the United States, has suffered a series of recent setbacks, including the January departure of Chief Executive Mary Forte, a probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission into its accounting policies, and a decision last month to place its chief financial officer on administrative leave.
Signet changed its name from Ratners in 1993 after its then boss, Gerald Ratner, made one of most famous gaffes in British corporate history by describing one of the company’s products as “total crap.”
The Daily Telegraph newspaper said on Monday that Ratner was interested in buying back H. Samuel if it became available. Ratner was not immediately available for comment.
Last week Signet shares hit a three-year low at 91 pence. Based on Monday’s 98.75 pence close, Signet was worth 1.7 billion pounds ($3.13 billion).
(Additional reporting by Dan Lalor in London and Martinne Geller in New York)
