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Prada has emerged as the frontrunner to buy Versace from Capri Holdings for about €1.5bn, in a move that would combine two of Italy’s best known luxury fashion brands.
After months of on-off talks between Milan-based Prada and Capri, which owns brands including Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo, the two companies are edging closer to an agreement and a deal could be concluded “within weeks”, according to people briefed on the discussions.
Capri’s initial asking price of €3bn for Milan-based Versace, and the interest of other potential buyers, have prolonged the talks, said other people familiar with the discussions.
The pricing and timing of any deal could still change, the people added. Prada group is due to report full-year results for 2024 on Tuesday.
Miuccia Prada, Prada’s co-founder and controlling shareholder, said on Thursday at the group’s fashion show in Milan that “everyone is looking” at Versace, in her first public remarks about a potential deal.
A spokesperson for Prada declined to comment. Bloomberg News first reported Prada was moving closer to buying Versace.
Capri purchased the Italian luxury brand founded by the late Gianni Versace from its eponymous family for about €1.85bn including debt in 2018.
New York-based Capri has been looking to sell Versace for some time. The plan accelerated last year when Capri called off a merger with rival Tapestry, which owns Coach and other affordable luxury brands, after a US judge in October blocked the $8.5bn tie-up over antitrust concerns.
Prada is Italy’s largest luxury fashion group and its financial performance has remained strong despite a sector slowdown, partly due to its booming Miu Miu brand.
The group, which is preparing for a generational shift as Miuccia Prada and her co-founder Patrizio Bertelli prepare to hand over to their son Lorenzo Bertelli, is open to acquisitions as a way to gain scale.
Industry insiders have long seen Versace, whose bold style is in stark contrast to the sober elegance of Prada’s mainline brand, as potentially adding something different to the Milan-based group.
As well as Miu Miu and its mainline brand, Prada also owns Church’s, the shoe label founded in the UK.
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