Joules Group PLC (AIM:JOUL) said “positive discussions” continue with Next Group PLC over adopting its Total Platform services and a potential equity investment by Next in a minority stake in Joules.
The statement followed media reports yesterday that Next had cooled on plans to invest £15mln in a 25% stake in the luxury clothing and homeware company.
According to Sky News, the two companies are not close to agreeing the terms of an investment from Next more than three weeks after confirming they were in discussions.
There are doubts that Next would be prepared to agree to a deal at a value of around 33p per share or more, as Joules shares have dropped to just over 25p a share following a profits warning earlier this month, Sky reported.
Citing City sources, Sky said Next had not received sufficient financial information to enable it to make a formal proposal to the Joules board.
In a statement issued earlier this month, Joules said it would join Next’s platform, which offers clients the benefits of the FTSE 100 company’s technology, warehousing, logistics and other infrastructure for their operations.
Joules today stressed that there can be no certainty that these discussions would lead to an agreement, and a further announcement will be made when appropriate.