THG (formerly The Hut Group) saw its shares jump more than 40% earlier this week after it received a takeover bid from Apollo Global Management Inc.
 
The British e-commerce company, which owns sites like Lookfantastic, Cult Beauty and Dermstore, clarified that “there can be no certainty that any firm offer will be made,” and added “a further announcement will be made if and when appropriate.”
 
Apollo must make its intentions clear by May 15 or walk away. THG did not disclose the terms of the preliminary proposal.

FY 2022 Results

This news comes just as THG shared its preliminary results for the financial year ended 31 December 2022, together with its trading update for the three months ended 31 March 2023.
 
Group revenues increased 2.7% to £2,239.2m, culminating in 2-year total sales growth of 38.8%.
 
Mathew Moulding, CEO of THG, commented, “2022 was unquestionably the most challenging global environment we’ve seen since founding THG nearly 20 years ago. An extraordinary backdrop of runaway inflation, rapidly rising interest rates, and major geopolitical events created significant macroeconomic and consumer uncertainty. I’m incredibly proud of how THG and the team responded to these challenges. For me, there is no doubt that 2022 was our best performance to date, even given the reduction in profitability year-on-year.”
 
The Board anticipates FY 2023 Group revenue growth across continuing divisions of low to mid-single digit. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in line with the company consensus, with a significant weighting to the second half of the year.