10 April 2025 , 19:05
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Fashion house Prada has reached an agreement to acquire another Italian brand, Versace, for $1.38 billion.
This is reported by Bloomberg.
The deal is said to be the largest in Prada’s 112-year history and will help strengthen its position as Italy’s leading fashion group.
“The deal returns Versace to Italian ownership and may put the company in a better position to compete with major luxury competitors like LVMH and Kering,” writes Bloomberg.
The agency reminds that in 2018, Versace was acquired by the American company Michael Kors (now Capri Holdings) for €1.8 billion—at that time, the Versace family received €150 million in Capri shares.
“While Versace remains a global brand, it is far from its peak in the 1980s and 1990s. Capri’s ambition to double Versace’s revenue has not been realized,” Bloomberg notes.
The sale of Versace will strengthen Capri’s balance sheet, enable stock buybacks, and allow investment in its largest brand, Michael Kors, said Capri.
Capri’s shares fell 13% in New York trading following this announcement. Over the past year, the shares have dropped about 66%.
"Prada is going on the offensive with mergers and acquisitions after record results in 2024. However, Prada is worth a fraction of its biggest competitors. After its shares fell approximately 32% from a record high in mid-February, Prada is now valued at around €14 billion, compared to €264 billion for LVMH," the publication concludes.
Politics Editor