Mytheresa among bidders for Yoox Net-a-Porter

Online retailer Mytheresa is understood to be among the potential bidders looking to snap up rival e-commerce business Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) from luxury group Richemont.

According to sources for the Financial Times (FT), German-based Mytheresa is in competition with private equity firms Bain Capital and Permira for the struggling e-tailer.

Despite this, the media outlet noted that there was a sense of hesitancy among interested parties due to the ongoing losses at YNAP, which are expected to continue into the coming year and have made the company difficult to value.

While Mytheresa declined to comment on the possible YNAP bid, the company told FashionUnited in a holding statement: "Mytheresa is constantly evaluating opportunities to grow our business, which may include M&A activities from time to time.

"It is our policy not to comment on potential M&A activities, including whether or not any potential M&A activities are under consideration at all."

Richemont has been seeking a buyer for YNAP since a former deal to sell a 47.5 percent stake to Farfetch came to a halt in light of Coupang’s acquisition of the British rival last year.

Its problems regarding YNAP didn’t start then, however. The Swiss luxury conglomerate has faced regular pressure from investors to offload the struggling e-tailer, which only mounted for the first half of the current financial year, in which Richemont recorded a 128 million euro loss for the entity.

This article was edited at 14:20, April 4, to include a statement from MyTheresa to FashionUnited.