Li & Fung Limited's board of directors gave the go ahead Tuesday to spin off the company's brand licensing and management business, which controls the Spyder and Frye brands globally, to shareholders. The sourcing, logistics, and distribution company said it expects to complete the listing of shares in Global Brands Group on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on July 9, 2014.
Li & Fung filed its listing documents for Global Brand June 26, but the board still had to official approve the spin off at a meeting Tuesday. The board said shareholders of record as of July 7 will receive one share in the Global Brands Group for every share of Li & Fung they own and that the new shares would begin trading July 9.
Bruce Rockowitz will officially resign from the Group as Group President and CEO and start full time as CEO of the Global Brands Group on July 7, 2014, while Spencer Fung will become the new CEO of Li & Fung on the same day.
The purose of the spin-off and listing of the Global Brands Group as a separate publicly listed entity was announced on March 20, 2014, when the company published its new three-year plan. That plan called for splitting the two businesses to enhance shareholder value and eliminate the risk of conflicts of interest between Li & Fung, which is the world's largest provider of logistics, sourcing and private label services to retailers, and Global Brands Group, which owns more than 350 brand licenses and manages another 100 for brand owners and licensees. Global Brands controls 10 additional brands, including Spyder and Frye, under long-term global licensing agreements.
