A Chinese conglomerate has agreed to purchase 89% of House of Fraser in a deal worth more than £450 million.
The company, Sanpower Group, owns a large department store in Nanjing and controls more than 100 companies in various sectors including retail and property.
House of Fraser, which began operations in 1849, had been previously in negotiations with other possible buyers, such as the French department store chain Galeries Lafayette. When these were unsuccessfully, it decided to float on the stock market.
The offer from Sanpower has changed those plans. It is understood that the terms of the deal have been agreed but lawyers are putting the final touches to an agreement. A spokesman for the retailer declined to comment further.
The group started up in Nanjing in 1993 by a 49-year-old entrepreneur Yafei Yuan.
Mr Yuan plans to convert House of Fraser to a global brand, starting with China.
He added that as e-commerce accounts for more than a third of House of Fraser’s sales, the operation needs to adapt more to the internet.
Sanpower generated sales of more than £5.4bn in 2012 and says it owns assets worth about the same.
House of Fraser, which was has 61 stores in the UK and Ireland, has been in private hands since 2006.
