Prada For Sale

[Bidwell]

ITALIAN FASHION HOUSE PRADA IN SALES TALKS

Sun Jul 8, 12:02 PM ET YAHOO NEWS



LONDON (AFP) - A British billionaire is holding secret talks on buying Italian fashion house Prada, the Sunday Times reported.


Richard Caring, who made his fortune supplying many of Britain's leading clothes stores, is holding secret talks on the move, the weekly paper said, quoting unnamed sources from the City of London financial district.
At least two private equity houses are also interested in buying Prada, which is worth 1.3 billion pounds (1.9 billion euros, 2.6 billion dollars), the paper said.
It reported that these could include Permira and Carlyle.
Prada, known for its sleek, modernist tailoring, enjoyed a 63 percent increase in profits last year, taking them to 76 million euros.
It sold loss-making fashion labels Helmut Lang and Jil Sander in 2006.


Interesting development...and not so secret!

 

[seanutbutter]

This should probably be moved to the Designers and Collections forum. Interesting article!

 

[Pastry]

^ i think that makes sense too.

 

[softgrey]

this is surely an interesting development....

 

[seanutbutter]

Prada....enjoyed a 63 percent increase in profits last year

I wasn't aware they had such a jump in profits. I'll be watching this story closely.

 

[notmanons]

Interesting

 

[Kadu]

I agree
Interesting!

 

[londoneffect]

OMG! I wasn't expecting that! Especially when its becoming more profitable and stronger in all meanings (and that I think was mostly triggered by the fall of Versace as a leader in the market, without the true leader in the house). Who would want to sell a brand like this? SO INTERESTING!

 

[xPedro]

very interesting

 

[joiedemode]

Well it is not a secret anymore!

 

[Scott]

does that mean Prada as a brand or Prada Group as a whole? i shall reserve my opinions till i know what actually might behind these 'talks'. but somehow the idea of merely even talking of selling might deem them to be having some financial problems or something within the infrastructure of the brand. could ultimately be an ironic twist,if you know what i mean....

 

[Mota3089]

Gucci Group should buy Prada. Just imagine the outrage

 

[Salvatore]

Interesting and unexpected!

 

[The_Ida]

does that mean Prada as a brand or Prada Group as a whole?

I believe it means Prada Group as the article mentioned that Prada sold Jil Sander and Helmut Lang?

 

[The_Ida]

Gucci Group should buy Prada. Just imagine the outrage

And then LVMH buys Gucci Group

 

[Scott]

if that's certainly the case,i can't help but to feel a bit vengeful.....after all the dishonesty and the leeching they did and patrizio's arrogant attitude toward jil and helmut...would serve him well.

 

[fashion_boi_01]

http://www.euro2day.gr/articlesfna/38506939/

Prada aims for an IPO next year

By Tom Braithwaite
Published: 8/7/2007 | Last Updated: 8/7/2007 21:40 London Time

Prada, the Italian fashion house, has signalled it is aiming to float next yearin spite of a report that Richard Caring, the entrepreneur who owns The Ivy restaurant, could bid for the company.
"We are not in talks with him and the current plan, which will be delivered in the coming months, is a plan for an initial public offering," Prada said on Sunday.
Mr Caring, who could not be reached for comment, built a fortune supplying clothes to clients including Sir Philip Green's Arcadia. In recent years, he has switched his focus towards leisure pursuits with a portfolio that includes the Wentworth golf club and Annabel's nightclub.
Almost all of Prada is in the hands of Miuccia Prada, her husband and chief executive Patrizio Bertelli, and family members.
Prada said on Sunday that the IPO could come either next year or in 2009 and that a sale to a private equity bidder or an entrepreneur such as Mr Caring was not on the cards.
In December last year, a base valuation of €2bn (£1.35bn) was implied when it sold a 5 per cent ownership stake to Banca Intesa, now Intesa Sanpaolo, for €100m. However, the current appetite for luxury goods companies means Prada will be aiming for a valuation closer to €3bn.

 

[Caffeine]

what a turn!
Prada IS indeed a great private equity investment target. They have been cleaning up their books in recent years to make the IPO work, and the new owner can just load it up with debt and make huge profit. It's going to be easier to take them than after Prada becomes a public company.

on the other hand, the Pradas want to make money ...and that's the motivation for them to go to the IPO route. Now if a buyer pays a significant premium...
then it becomes the talk b/w the couple...sell the family company and cash out vs. keep the heritage with less dough in their hands...

 

[fashion_boi_01]

Prada Says It Isn't for Sale, Not Talking With Buyers (Update1)
By Sara Gay Forden
July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Prada SpA, the Italian maker of Car Shoe and Azzedine Alaia fashions, said it isn't for sale and hasn't met with U.K. millionaire investor Richard Caring or private-equity funds.
The Sunday Times said today Prada was in talks with Caring to sell the company, citing unidentified people in London's financial district. The London-based newspaper reported Prada had received interest from at least two private equity companies.
``The information in the piece is completely incorrect,'' said Prada spokesman Tomaso Galli in a telephone interview today. ``The company is not for sale and there have been no meetings with anyone regarding a sale.''
Milan-based Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo SpA, an 80-year- old Italian luxury-goods maker based in Florence, Italy, have said they want to sell shares to the public to finance international expansion. Fashion companies are seeking access to financial markets to support the increasing costs of opening stores and executing global advertising campaigns to expand in emerging markets in Russia, China and India.
Galli said Prada's value is higher than the 2 billion euros ($2.73 billion) cited by the Times. ``The company is worth between 3 and 3.5 billion euros,'' Galli said.
Prada is still considering selling shares on the stock market starting from next year, he said. Prada has scrapped plans for an initial public offering three times in the current decade.
Aeffe IPO
Aeffe SpA, the Italian owner of the Moschino fashion brand, received regulatory approval July 6 to sell shares on the Italian Stock Exchange. The company, which also makes Alberta Ferretti and Jean-Paul Gaultier clothing, is selling shares to finance its expansion plans, which include opening new stores in China. Ferretti is also targeting higher sales of accessories, Chairman Massimo Ferretti said in a June 25 interview.
``Retail expansion and communications are the key drivers of the luxury-goods business today,'' said Armando Branchini, vice president of Intercorporate, a Milan-based consulting firm specializing in luxury goods, today.
Prada, which also owns English shoemaker Church & Co., cut costs and sold unprofitable Jil Sander and Helmut Lang fashion houses to concentrate on developing its brands, including Miu Miu.
Net income climbed to 76 million euros in the 2006 fiscal year through January from 47 million euros in the prior period, the company said in April. Sales rose 7.5 percent to 1.43 billion euros.
Stake Sale
Prada raised 100 million euros in December by selling a 5 percent stake to Banca Intesa SpA. The fashion company also bought back the 55 percent stake it didn't own in shoemaker Church's from Equinox the same month.
Luxury labels are also increasingly being sought after by investors because they are growing faster than the larger consumer market and because it is easier to develop an existing brand than to create one from scratch, Branchini said.
Permira Advisers LLP, manager of Europe's largest buyout fund, offered to buy Valentino Fashion Group SpA last month in a transaction valuing the company at 2.6 billion euros ($3.5 billion), lured by its Hugo Boss AG clothing brand and the potential to develop business at Rome-based fashion house Valentino SpA. The transaction is the largest private-equity purchase of a European luxury brand and follows TowerBrook Capital Partners LP's takeover of shoemaker Jimmy Choo Ltd. in February.




http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQQqpQKboxFE&refer=home

 

[luckyme]

I know I'm jaded and an eternal idealist but why does it always have to be about money???? I wish just once someone would have the courage to stand with their vision and live within it.