The Compagnie Financiere Richemont has made an offer for the remaining 51% of shares of Yoox Net-a Porter which it does not already own. The offer amounts to €2.77 billion, which values the company at €5.3 bn. Richemont's desire to strengthen its presence and focus on the digital channel explains the offer of €38 per share, a premium of over 25% on its preceding closing price. Federico Marchetti, who founded Yoox in 2000, and who led the merger with Net-a-Porter in 2015, says that the offer will help accelerate growth. He has suggested that he plans to stay on. He will also sell his 4% share. Kering, which signed a venture with Yoox in August to launch six online shops for brands including Alexander McQueen and Bottega Veneta, has made no comment, but analysts believe the deal does not at present change the status of the venture. Other commentators, separately do not exclude the possibility of rival bids for YNAP.

The offer comes only months after Apax Partners acquired a majority stake in Matchesfashion.com, and JD.com's $397m investment in Farfetch. Other mergers are also rumoured.