In today's episode Adrian Lawrence our in-house financial professional talks about the announcement French Connection Group Plc (LSE:FCCN) made on Friday 5th February 2021 that they have received two approaches.

The company made a regulartory announcement that The Board of French Connection Group Plc notes the recent share price movement and confirms that it has received separate approaches from each of Spotlight Brands in conjunction with Gordon Brothers International LLC ("Spotlight") and Go Global Retail in conjunction with HMJ International Services Ltd ("Go Global") as potential offerors for French Connection Group Plc, each of which may or may not result in an offer for the Company.

The company received an approach in January 2020 but at that time rejected it as being too low, since then their share price has slumped due to the three pandemic related lockdowns which have impacted heavily on the UK retail, leisure and hospitality sectors.  The company has previously stated that it is interested in takeover approaches.

Read more about French Connection Group PLC

The whole retail sector has been under pressure for a long time as the internet has gradually increased its share of retail sales.  Retailers who have embraced this change and invested in their digital offerings have done very well, increasing their sales even during the pandemic whilst the companies that have neglected their online sales channels have suffered.

The pandemic has hastened the move online and many observers of the retail sector indicate that the lockdowns have accelerated the move of business online by between 3 and 5 years.

Shareholders in FCCN have seen the price of their shares fall to around 10-11p pre the end of 2020 but now are seeing a jump, On Friday the price of FCCN shares climbed to 26p and there is speculation that if either of the bids completes it may be in the range of 40-45p per share, which would be a great recovery story.

Other potential investors are believed to be considering making bids which would lead to a bidding battle.

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