Italian fashion house Versace SpA is trying to sell up to 20% of itself to investors to raise cash and potentially fund a retail expansion. Potential investors include Blackstone Group LP, KKR & Co., Permira Advisers Holdings Ltd., Italian private equity fund Clessidra, French fund Ardian and Italian investment vehicle Fondo Strategico Italiano,
the
Wall Street Journal
reported
.
Versace’s current owners are Donatella and Santo Versace, siblings of the late designer Gianni Versace, as well as the designer’s niece, Allegra.
“In exchange for an investment of about €250 million ($338 million), a new investor must accept management’s current strategy and have no say on the design direction,” the
Journal
article said.
The report noted that if the Versaces aren’t comfortable with the prospective investors or if the valuation is below €1 billion, they could decide not to sell a stake.
After Gianni Versace was murdered in 1997, his sister Donatella took charge and the company struggled. Creditors demanded a management change in 2004. Under current CEO Giacomo Ferraris, Versace had an operating profit of €45 million on revenues of €409 million last year, the
Journal
article said. (Source:
Wall Street Journal,
Oct. 10, 2013.)
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