Versace luxury fashion house 'to be sold shortly'

MILAN: Italian fashion giant Versace is about to be sold, the country’s biggest-selling newspaper said on Monday, citing anonymous sources who suggested the deal could come in the next few hours.

Donatella Versace, the brand’s artistic director and vice-president of the group, has called a staff meeting in Milan for Tuesday, according to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Celebrity shoemaker Jimmy Choo, luxury jeweller Tiffany & Co and US fashion group Michael Kors Holdings were listed as possible buyers.

The company in its entirety is estimated to be worth some $2.0 billion (1.7 billion euros), the report said. Versace could not immediately confirm the news.

Michael Kors has made no secret of its ambition to grow its portfolio of high-end brands after swooping on British stiletto-heel maker Jimmy Choo for $1.2 billion last year.

As part of the deal, Blackstone will fully exit the Italian company, while the Versace family, which owns the rest of the fashion house, will keep a role.

Twenty percent of the brand, known for its Medusa head logo, was bought by US private equity group Blackstone in 2014, and the family owns the rest.

The group, founded by designer Gianni Versace in 1978, boasted sales of 686 million euros in 2016 and turnover is expected to exceed one billion euros in the “short term”, CEO Jonathan Akeroyd said in June.