Iran marks one year since Hezbollah chief Nasrallah’s assassination
Thousands gathered in Tehran on Thursday to commemorate one year since the assassination of longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, as Iranian off...
Late designer Giorgio Armani has instructed heirs to gradually sell the fashion brand he created 50 years ago or seek a stock market listing, his will said, marking a surprising turn for a company highly protective of its independence and Italian roots.
The will, reviewed by Reuters, states heirs should sell an initial 15% stake in the Italian fashion house within 18 months and later transfer an additional 30% to 54.9% stake to the same buyer between three and five years after Armani's death.
The designer, known in the industry as 'King Giorgio', died on 4 September at 91 and with no children to inherit his fashion empire.
The will gives priority to LVMH, L’Oreal, EssilorLuxottica, or another equivalent group approved by Armani’s foundation and partner Pantaleo Dell’Orco. As an alternative to the sale of the second tranche of shares, an initial public offering should be pursued, in Italy or in a market of equal standing, it said.
It was not immediately clear what would happen if one of the heirs or the foundation did not fulfill the instructions on a sale set out in the will.
The explicit mention of stake sales and of France-listed players as potential buyers comes as a surprise, given Giorgio Armani's persistent refusal to dilute his control or list his fashion group on the stock market. It could also spur a race to secure a slice of the brand, which industry experts say has retained its appeal despite a global luxury slowdown.
EssilorLuxottica, controlled by the heirs of Italian entrepreneur Leonardo Del Vecchio and with commercial ties to Armani, said in a statement it would consider a possible deal.
"We're proud of the consideration our group and its management received from Mr Armani," a spokesperson for EssilorLuxottica told Reuters.
"Together with the board we'll carefully assess such a development prospect given the deep ties already existing between the two groups."
Armani's will projects fashion group into a new era
Over the years, the maker of popular unstructured suits that gained him international fame received several approaches, including one in 2021 from John Elkann, scion of Italy's Agnelli family, and another from luxury brand Gucci, when Maurizio Gucci was still at the helm.
Armani was the sole major shareholder of the company he set up with his late partner Sergio Galeotti in the 1970s and over which he maintained a tight rein - both creative and managerial - until the very end.
The business generated a relatively stable revenue - €2.3 billion ($2.7 billion) in 2024 - but whose profits have shrunk amid a broad luxury industry recession.
The will, which lists six different types of shares with different voting rights, gives the Fondazione Giorgio Armani and life partner and right-hand man Pantaleo Dell'Orco 30% and 40% of the company voting rights, respectively, meaning they would together control the fashion group with 70% of voting rights combined.
The foundation will retain a 30.1% stake in a listing, according to the will.
Its five-member board will be chaired by Dell'Orco, in accordance with the foundation's bylaws. Other board members include Rothschild partner Irving Bellotti, Armani's nephew Andrea Camerana and two family outsiders, a person close to the matter told Reuters.
Heirs should consider other fashion and luxury companies with which the Armani group has commercial ties for a future sale, the will also said.
The Armani group has commercial partnerships with both L'Oreal and EssilorLuxottica.
Yet, with a market value of €240 billion and a reputation for being a patient and supporting minority investor, conglomerate LVMH controlled by billionaire Bernard Arnault may ultimately prevail.
"We think that LVMH would likely be the most interested, of the three, in a stake, were it to become available, given the strategic fit," analysts at Berenberg said in a note. They said the group could easily afford to buy Armani, which they valued at between €5 and €7 billion.
Fondazione Giorgio Armani, a key pillar of the Italian designer's succession, will propose the name of the group's new CEO, Armani's executive committee said on Friday.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Scientist and global activist Jane Goodall, who turned her childhood love of primates into a lifelong quest for protecting the environment, has died at the age of 91, the institute she founded said on Wednesday.
U.S. federal prosecutors urged a judge on Tuesday to sentence Sean "Diddy" Combs to more than 11 years in prison this week following the hip-hop mogul's conviction on prostitution-related charges.
Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman and country music star Keith Urban have separated after 19 years of marriage, various news outlets reported on Monday, citing unidentified sources.
Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani unveiled the last collection personally worked on by its late designer and founder, at Brera art museum in the heart of Milan on Sunday.
Sean "Diddy" Combs is due to appear in court on Thursday for a hearing over his bid to set aside a jury's verdict finding the hip-hop mogul guilty on prostitution charges but clearing him of more serious counts of sex trafficking and racketeering.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment