[ad_1]
The legendary fashion house of Versace is about to be sold to a US company for $ 2 billion, according to the largest Italian newspaper, Corierra della Sera. Bloomberg reports that the buyer is Michael Kors Holdings, which takes over the private investor Blackstone and preserves the participation of the Versace family.
Sources told the newspaper that the official announcement of Milan would arrive on Tuesday, when Creative Director Donatella Versace scheduled a staff meeting, but confirmation of the news could come in a few hours.
Versace, which makes more than half of its sales in Asia, would be a jewel for Michael Kors Holdings (kors), which last year bought the shoe brand Jimmy Choo for $ 1.2 billion.
The jeweler Tiffany & Co. (tif), headed by an Italian CEO who is trying to get things moving, is another potential buyer whose name floated in Milan.
The private equity group Blackstone took a 20% stake in Versace in 2014, valuing the company at $ 1 billion, to finance the expansion abroad in the idea of taking the company off the stock exchange. CEO Jonathan Akeroyd told Reuters in January that there was no rush for an IPO. The rest of the business is owned by the Versace family.
WWD reports that sources have indicated that Blackstone may seek an exit in the coming months, given the time they have already reserved for this asset, and that the sale to another private equity fund was unlikely.
The fashion house, founded by designer Gianni Versace in 1978, achieved a turnover of 686 million euros in 2017, with a net profit of 15 million euros. Akeroyd said in June that he was forecasting a turnover of over 1 billion euros in "short term" terms.
Source link
