The Future of Valentino

[kimair]

excerpt from wwd...

The stock exchange here suspended trading in Valentino Fashion Group SpA shares for the entire session Monday pending an announcement of an unspecified nature.

As WWD reported today, Valentino FG chairman Antonio Favrin said Friday that the group had received offers from various "financial companies". Speculation about the possible sale of Valentino FG has been circulating for months. Reports have named private equity firms Carlyle and Permira as potential buyers.

A Valentino FG spokeswomen said the company has no plans to issue a statement and referred journalists to the company's individual shareholders.

A spokeswoman for Canova Partecipazioni Srl, Favrin's own investment company, said that the company may be issuing a statement this evening or Tuesday. Canova owns almost 20 percent of the company.

"We are negotiating," the Canova spokeswoman said, declining to elaborate further on the nature of the talks or the players involved.

A Borsa Italiana spokesman said that shares were also suspended for the afterhours trade session.

Antonio Favrin, chairman of the owner of Hugo Boss and Valentino, admitted at a shareholders' meeting Friday that the group had received offers from "financial companies interested in the luxury sector, which had contacted some of the main shareholders of the company."

Favrin stressed, though, that the offers "have not yet taken shape as any formal proposal."

This is the first time Favrin discussed the issue without dismissing the idea of a sale. For months, there has been speculation about a possible sale of VFG — heightened by the fact that designer Valentino Garavani, who turned 75 on Friday, is preparing his 45th-anniversary couture show in Rome in July.

The show has stirred talk Valentino might use the occasion to step down. Sources have said VFG had been searching for a replacement for the designer for at least two years, but had been unable to find anyone suitable to take up the reins of the house and its myriad collections.

One variable remains the involvement of Valentino at the brand he created. When asked if the designer's expected retirement could affect the choice of a buyer, CEO Stefano Sassi said that, while the strong contribution of the designer was undeniable, it would be "limiting to measure the strength of the group on one person."

One source contended it would be "understandable for a fund to wait until there is no creative director in order to put in its own designer, free from any preexisting tie with a strong name."

 

[le go garçon 84]

Hope everything goes well for Valentino and the company, it's really sad to see how sometimes designers get left behind in the whole corporative side of bussiness.

 

[softgrey]

thanks for posting this kimair...
i keep wondering how much longer valentino will keep going....

armani is the other big question mark...

 

[happyguy]

we can't loose valentino!!! i was watching FTV <i think it's FTV> when Valentino said he can't trust anyone anymore. so weird...

 

[rangerrick14]

That's sad but it happens to every great designer. If he leaves they should just close down the house any other designer would just screw we the classic style. I mean I love Galliano and Dries Van Noten but Valento is one of those houses that make clothes for the client.
Who would be able to design his house? Maybe Zac Posen or Oscar de la Renta he aint young but him in a couture house would be interesting.

 

[ilaughead]

How old is Valentino? 70? He kind of needs to hurry to find a successor, doesn't he?!

 

[le go garçon 84]

How old is Valentino? 70? He kind of needs to hurry to find a successor, doesn't he?!

I think some designers should really start looking for some successor Karl Lagerfeld, Armani, Valentino. Not trying to be a crow here but they are old.

 

[Whitelinen]

I know most people won't agree with me, but I think it is time for us to let Valentino go. Let's have a graceful funeral for the house and remember its legacy, but I don't think it should be tried to save when Valentino himself retires. Plus the designs at the moment and on the past seasons have been more or less horrible.

 

[Lena]

he's one of 'the great masters' but i agree that no-one can step in if he feels like retiring

i strongly believe that fashion houses should close shop when their createur resigns.. so that young designers can create their own, new fashion houses

 

[rangerrick14]

Thats romantic and all but, if he doesn't own majority holdings; shareholders won't want to close a big money house. They'll milk it as long as they can. It'll be a sad sight.

 

[irresistable_loz]

it''ll be sad to see him go... i hope he stays around for the 50th anniversary if at all possible...

it'll be a dark day in the history of fashion when they try to replace him

 

[irresistable_loz]

that said... I can see the appeal of retirement at his age and after 45 years :s

 

[jakeee]

mr.valentino...dont leave me

 

[Trista]

I love Valentino and all, but I agree with shuttering it when he steps down.

 

[Whitelinen]

Thats romantic and all but, if he doesn't own majority holdings; shareholders won't want to close a big money house. They'll milk it as long as they can. It'll be a sad sight.

Of course they will, that is happening with all old major houses. It is sad indeed.

 

[BaroqueRockstar]

valentino needs some fresh blood
their stuff is so boring these days...

 

[The_Ida]

I have always liked that little orange man. But how can he possibly keep going?

 

[cric-croc]

I wish he won't leave- Valentino needs to stay at Valentino...

 

[kimair]

more from wwd...

The takeover battle for Valentino Fashion Group is still on.

Valentino FG said Thursday that the board has examined private equity fund Permira’s offer to launch a takeover bid for the entire company at 35 euros per share plus an additional 0.65 euros per share, calculated on the basis of Valentino FG’s 2006 dividend.

Valentino FG went on to say that it will cooperate with Permira’s request to execute a “confirmatory due diligence” on the company by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, rival bidder Carlyle Group also issued a statement saying that that it is keeping its options open in terms of market opportunities. But it also denied wire reports that Carlyle is preparing to launch a counter bid for Valentino at 36 euros per share. “At the current time, no decision has been made,” Carlyle said in a statement.

As reported Thursday, Permira agreed to buy 29.6 percent of Valentino FG from a group of Marzotto family members for 782.6 million euros, making it the company’s single largest shareholder. Carlyle Group was also in the process of courting Valentino FG shareholders in hopes of buying a stake in the company.

 

[Luxx]

He needs a worthy successor. Someone who can design elegant clothing for a refined client but is also in touch with the youth. I don't want Valentino turning into a trendy brand but a young perspective could be appealing if and when Valentino steps down.

That said I don't see him leaving anytime too soon. If there is a heart beating in that body I'm sure he'll be designing. Same with Karl. Karl Lagerfeld will bury us all, I'm not entirely convinced he isn't immortal...