Natalie Massenet has resigned from Net-a-Porter Group Ltd as the company is completing its merger with Yoox Group S.p.A., according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Massenet is the founder and executive chairman of Net-a-Porter, an online luxury fashion retailer.
The Observer adds that Massenet said in a statement that the company's merger with Yoox is "the right time" for her to "move on and explore new ideas and opportunities."
"The business I started in 2000 could not be in better shape today," she said. "Having joined forces with Yoox Group, the company will be bigger, stronger and superbly well positioned under Federico's leadership to lead the industry and create the future of fashion."
Luca Solca, a veteran luxury analyst who works at Exane BNP Paribas, told The Wall Street Journal that the resignation of Massenet wasn't surprising.
"She wasn't particularly keen on the merger with Yoox which is why it didn't happen earlier," he said.
He added that Massenet wasn't happy with the valuation that Net-a-Porter got and she's having doubts about the merger with Yoox, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Solca said that she "may have had qualms about Yoox being a very different business, much more of a company run by engineers."
A press release from Yoox last March 31, 2015 states that Federico Marchetti, the owner of Yoox Group, has clinched a deal to merge his company with Net-a-Porter for over €1.3 billion, or $1.4 billion.
The merged company would be called YOOX Net-a-Porter Group.
The press release also stated that Massenet would have been assigned as the executive chairman, with defined responsibilities, of the YOOX Net-a-Porter Group had she stayed with the company.
Yoox said in a recent press release that the resignation of Massenet means she won't be a member of the merged company's board of directors.
The Wall Street Journal adds that Massenet will be leaving the company with over £100 million, or about $153 million after selling her shares in the company.
Massenet also said in her statement that her drive for being an entrepreneur is still strong, which indicates that she could still start another business.
