Kogan the online retailer is believed to be a bidder for the Dick Smith name and web site.
According to sources the Melbourne based online retailer, who is tipped to be looking at doing an online float, has approached the receivers of the failed business to buy the Dick Smith name and online business.
Ruslan Kogan the founder of the Kogan web site has not commented on the claim.
According to the AFR, Kogan is working with investment banks UBS and Canaccord Genuity, who are readying the company for a $300 million initial public offering in the second half of this year.
The acquisition of the Dick Smith online business which is believed to be profitable would be a major coupe for Kogan who primarily sells house brand products and grey imported branded products.
Kogan claims his sales are currently around $250 million, the addition of the Dick Smith brand name and web site operation would allow him to use his current back end billing and inventory control systems across both a Kogan and Dick Smith web site or he could simply stop trading as Kogan and operate as Dick Smith online.
Last year Kogan like Dick Smith joined forces with Vodafone Hutchison Australia to launch a new mobile service that sells low-cost services with 3G data.
Dick Smith was a major partner with Vodafone.
The IPO plans come after Kogan previously had KPMG Corporate Finance in its corner testing buyer interest for a stake in the business. At the time, it was Kogan’s goal to reach $2 billion in annual turnover by 2017.