Roberto Cavalli sponsor hires Rothschild for minority stake sale, sources say
15 OCT 2018
Roberto Cavalli’s private equity owner Clessidra SGR has mandated Rothschild to sell a minority shareholding in the Italian fashion house, three sources close to and a source briefed on the situation said. The process should launch in the coming months, all three sources close said.
Last month, a news report said Swiss fashion group Philipp Plein is interested in buying into Roberto Cavalli. The same report cited Clessidra’s Managing Director Manuel Catalano as saying no exit from Roberto Cavalli is in the works. Roberto Cavalli is on course to generate a profit this year after an extended turnaround, the report quoted Catalano as saying.
Through investment vehicle Varenne, Clessidra has backed Roberto Cavalli since a 2015 buyout from the eponymous founder for an estimated EUR 390m. L-GAM Advisers and conglomerate Chow Tai Fook Enterprises [HKG: 1929] also hold stakes in the company. In 2017, Roberto Cavalli generated turnover of EUR 152.4m. It generated negative EBITDA of EUR 7.1m, against negative EBITDA of EUR 26.2m in 2016.
Rothschild and Clessidra declined to comment. Roberto Cavalli did not respond to requests for comment. L-GAM and Chow Tai Fook could not be immediately reached for comment at the time of publication.
Clessidra plans to use the proceeds from the stake sale to kickstart its rejuvenation of the Roberto Cavalli brand, all three sources close said.
Clessidra will tout Roberto Cavalli’s improving performance and bright prospects to potential buyers, the first source close said.
Clessidra will also seek to ride a boom in Italian fashion M&A, the source briefed said. In June, Missoni saw state-backed PE firm Fondo Strategico Italiano take a stake for an undisclosed sum. Last month, New York-based Michael Kors [NYSE:KORS] acquired Versace for an enterprise value of EUR 1.83bn.
by Micaela Osella in Milan and Barbara Pianese and Fabian Graber in London