The billionaire Persson family has increased their H&M share purchases during this year which has fueled speculation about a possible private acquisition of the Swedish fashion company within the next decade.
The family-owned Ramsbury Invest purchased 42.75 million H&M shares during the first half of 2025 which approaches the 56.85 million shares acquired throughout all of last year. The company was established by Stefan Persson who remains Sweden’s wealthiest person and now holds more than 64% of H&M’s total stock.
Deutsche Bank analyst Adam Cochrane believes the family’s rising dividend payments might be enabling them to purchase additional shares. The analyst predicts H&M could become a private company by 2030. Portfolio manager Peter Magnusson at Cicero Fonder shared the same perspective when he stated that the question is when the acquisition will happen rather than if it will occur.
Ramsbury Invest has not provided any information about its future plans. The process of taking the company private would need either outside funding or strategic business partners. The market value of H&M currently stands at 187 billion Swedish kronor which equals $19.7 billion.
The current market volatility under Trump-era tariffs has made publicly listed retailers more attractive for take-private deals. The 9% decline in H&M stock value throughout this year has intensified shareholder discussions about long-term strategy while the company faces ongoing margin challenges.
