Maus Drops Gant Bid

PARIS – Swiss retailer Maus Frères SA said Monday it would not extend its takeover offer for Gant, one month after launching a hostile  bid for the Swedish sportswear firm.

But Maus, which runs the French sportswear company Lacoste, said it “reserved the right to acquire additional shares in the future,” auguring for a continued power struggle at Gant, which operates 310 stores worldwide.

Maus said it now owns “well above 30 percent” of Gant, including the 29.9 percent of shares it acquired on the Stockholm Stock Exchange before the offer closed last Friday. The total number of Gant shares Maus owns will be revealed “as soon as the number of tendered shares has been calculated,” Maus said.

For more, see Tuesday’s issue of WWD.