Farfetch, the beleaguered UK-based but US-listed online luxury retailer has been sold to South Korean e-commerce group Coupang in an eleventh-hour rescue deal.
Around US $500 million in emergency funding will be provided by Seoul-based Coupang, according to a statement Monday, helping London-HQ’d Farfetch avoid bankruptcy.
“Coupang is also uniquely positioned to unlock Farfetch’s tremendous value for the vast personal luxury goods segment in South Korea, which has the world’s highest per-capita spending on personal luxury goods,” the company said in a statement.
Earlier reports had suggested founder Jose Neves was in talks to take the business private after a miserable time as a publicly listed business.
Floated in 2018, the business has seen its value plummet from US$23 billion at its peak to just US$250m currently.
A deal for Farfetch to acquire a 47.5% stake in Richemont's Yoox-Net-a-Porter arm, mostly in shares, has been shelved following the sale to Coupang, according to the reports today.