Samsonite considers its options as luggage maker weighs takeover interest

Hong Kong-listed luggage maker is working with advisers as it studies possibilities including going private and has held preliminary discussions with a select group of suitors, according to sources

Samsonite traces its roots back to 1910 and is known for the durable suitcases.

Samsonite is considering its options after receiving takeover interest from suitors including buyout firms, people familiar with the matter said.

The Hong Kong-listed luggage maker is working with advisers as it studies possibilities including going private and has held preliminary discussions with a select group of suitors, the sources said. 

Some private equity firms have been studying a deal for Samsonite with the idea of acquiring the company and later relisting it in another market — like the US — at a higher valuation. 

Shares in Samsonite surged as much as 18% in Hong Kong on Tuesday, the most since March 2022, giving the company a market value of about €4.5bn. 

Deliberations are ongoing, and there is no certainty Samsonite will decide to move forward with a transaction, according to the sources. A representative for Samsonite declined to comment.

Samsonite is based in Massachusetts and Luxembourg. It traces its roots back to 1910 and is known for the durable suitcases sold under its namesake brand. It also sells luggage and other travel accessories under brands including American Tourister, Tumi, and High Sierra.

The company sold its shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2011 at a time when a number of Western consumer-goods makers, such as L’Occitane and Prada were looking to tap affluent customers in China. 

However, Samsonite has not been able to gain traction among investors in the Asian financial hub and last year studied the possibility of a second listing in the US. 

Samsonite’s plans to delist from Hong Kong signals the likelihood of smaller gains for its sales in the greater China region versus other markets, said analysts Catherine Lim and Trini Tan at Bloomberg Intelligence. 

Compared to 2019, Samsonite’s greater China sales gains over January-September 2023 already trailed that in Europe and North America, the analysts said. 

• Bloomberg