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The US luxury group Michael Kors is expected to announce an agreement for the purchase of the Milan fashion house Versace in a deal worth $ 2 billion, according to two people aware of the negotiations.
The deal, which is expected to be announced Tuesday morning, will see the Versace family sell alongside the US private equity firm Blackstone, which took a 20% stake in Versace in 2014.
At that time, the American private company injected € 150 million of fresh capital into Versace and acquired € 60 million in shares in Versace's family holding.
A spokesman for Versace declined to comment. Michael Kors and Blackstone were not immediately available for comment.
The transaction comes after Versace, one of the last independent fashion houses, put a brake on an initial public offering, because market conditions were not considered appropriate, according to a person informed of the decision.
This would be the last independent European track brand to decide to sell in recent months. The Italian Missoni family has announced an agreement to sell a minority stake in its eponymous brand to a state-backed private equity firm before the summer, and the Antwerp-based company Dries Van Noten has sold a majority stake in the luxury group Spanish Puig in June.
Meanwhile, Michael Kors sought to buy brands to create a US competitor to European luxury conglomerates LVMH, Kering and Richemont.
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