NEW YORK, United States — Hugo Boss AG's largest investor, Permira Holdings Ltd., plans to sell 4.9 million shares, or about 7 percent of the luxury-clothing company.

The move will increase the company’s free float -- the portion of shares available to public investors -- to 66 percent, Metzingen, Germany-based Hugo Boss said in a statement. That will make the stock more attractive to institutional investors, the company said.

The divestment follows Permira’s sale in September of an 11 percent stake to institutional investors managed by Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch and Citigroup Inc. That event caused the stock to tumble 5.7 percent, in part because it crimped speculation that Permira would seek a buyer for the fashion house.

Permira took control of Hugo Boss seven years ago and has cut its stake through other share sales over the past two years. Before the September divestment, it owned a stake of about 50 percent.

Hugo Boss rose 1.3 percent to 105.45 euros in Frankfurt, valuing the company at 7.42 billion euros.

By: Nick Turner. Editors: Nick Turner and Kevin Orland.