Qatar's Mayhoola leads in bid to buy Pepe Jeans

London

THE Qatari royal family is leading the race to buy the Spanish fashion brand Pepe Jeans as buyout funds struggle to match the sellers' price expectation of at least 700 million euros (S$1.14 billion), several sources close to the auction process said.

The clothing retailer, which is also selling its menswear brand Hackett, expects binding offers in around three weeks, one of the sources said.