By Tracy Qu
Samsonite International shares rose sharply Tuesday on the back of a media report that buyout firms and others have expressed interest in taking over the luggage maker.
Shares were up 14% at 26.50 Hong Kong dollars (US$3.39) at the midday break in Hong Kong, on track for their biggest one-day percentage gain in almost two years. The rise lifted the stock into the green for the year.
The gains came after Bloomberg reported that Samsonite is weighing options including going private after holding talks with a group of suitors. The report, which cited unnamed people familiar with the matter, added that some private equity firms are considering acquiring the company and relisting it in another market at a higher valuation.
Samsonite didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by Dow Jones Newswires.
Samsonite listed in Hong Kong in 2011. Shares peaked in 2018 at HK$37.35, then were hard hit early during the Covid-19 pandemic, losing about 61% of their value in the first quarter of 2020.
Shares have largely been on an upward trajectory since late 2020 amid a gradual recovery in sales. Samsonite posted sales of almost US$958 million in the third quarter of 2023, up 21% compared with the same period a year earlier.
Write to Tracy Qu at tracy.qu@wsj.com
