Samsonite ‘nears deal to buy Tumi’

SINGAPORE: Samsonite International SA, the world’s largest branded-luggage maker, is nearing an acquisition of luxury luggage maker Tumi Holdings Inc, and a deal could be announced as soon as this week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Samsonite halted trading in its shares in Hong Kong.

Exact terms of a deal couldn’t be learned, but New South Plainfield, Jersey-based Tumi could be valued at close to $2 billion, based on a “typical premium,” and the company’s $1.4 billion market value, according to the Journal.

A spokesman f or Hong Konglisted Samsonite said the Mansfield, Massachusetts-based company declined to comment. Calls to Tumi’s media relations department weren’t answered outside of office hours.

Samsonite shares had reversed earlier gains to fall as much as 1.1%, and were unchanged when the stock was suspended from trading. The company didn’t give a reason for the halt.

Samsonite’s Ramesh Tainwala, chief executive officer since October 2014, had said in January 2012 when he was in charge of Asia and the Middle East that Tumi is a “natural fit” as the company readies to spend at least $1 billion on buying rivals.

Five months later, Tainwala’s predecessor, Tim Parker, ruled out buying its smaller competitor, saying it was too expensive.