Permira further cuts stake in fashion house Hugo Boss

FRANKFURT, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 11 (Reuters) - European private equity firm Permira is cutting its stake in German fashion retailer Hugo Boss (Xetra: A1PHFF - news) to about 32 percent from 39 percent by selling more shares on the open market.

Hugo Boss said late on Thursday that Permira, the group's largest shareholder, had started placing a 7 percent stake via an accelerated bookbuilding procedure.

A person familiar with the transaction said that UBS was running the placement, seeking buyers at a price of 102 euros per share, which would make it a 500 million euro ($620 million) deal. That compares with a closing price earlier on Thursday of 105.45 euros.

The investment bank declined to comment.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters in September, shortly after Permira sold an 11 percent stake in Hugo Boss, that the buyout firm would hive off more shares in the fashion company.

Permira agreed to a three-month lockup period for its remaining shares, Hugo Boss said in its statement.

Permira spent 5.3 billion euros on a controlling stake in Hugo Boss in 2007, installing Claus-Dietrich Lahrs as chief executive, who has overseen the Hugo Boss stock quadruple in value since then.

($1 = 0.8059 euros) (Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Alexander Ratz and Christian Plumb)