Versace is vetting offers from investors interested in buying a minority stake in the Italian fashion house to support its growth plans, designer Donatella Versace said in an interview.
“The Versace brand has an enormous potential. Our advisors are selecting an investor that will buy a minority stake through a capital hike. We are not selling. Being small is neither good nor convenient. We must grow,” she was quoted as saying by Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore.
The family-owned fashion house, founded in 1978 by the late Gianni Versace, hired banks Goldman Sachs and Intesa Sanpaolo’s Banca Imi as advisers in May last year.
The newspaper said the investment banks were drawing up a short list and the partner should be announced by the end of October.
“Of course (we have received offers), but we are examining the quality of the investors and their capacity to support the plan for the coming years...,” Versace was quoted as saying.
The fashion house, whose glittering gowns are worn by stars such as Lady Gaga and Madonna, is seeking to strengthen its balance sheet to help fund expansion in overseas markets such as Asia before a possible listing further down the road.