OMG! There is another renowned fashion brand in hands of Michael Kors (MK). American handbag designer Michael Kors bought Italian fashion brand, Versace. The deal took place for a colossal of $2.12 billion. And, Kors will rename his company along with Versace as Capri Holdings.
Ever since the death of Gianni Versace in 1997, his sister Donatella has been the creative director of the European brand while his brother Santo is the Chairman. While the Versace family has owned the company for the major part, private equity firm Blackstone Group also has a 20% stake in the company. ‘With the full resources of our group, we believe that Versace will grow to over US$2.0 billion in revenues. We believe that the strength of the Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo brands, and the acquisition of Versace, position us to deliver multiple years of revenue and earnings growth,’ said John D Idol, chief executive of MK.
Whereas Donatella Versace announced the deal saying, ‘This is a very exciting moment for Versace. It has been more than 20 years since I took over the company along with my brother Santo and daughter Allegra. I am proud that Versace remains very strong in both fashion and modern culture.’
The administration team would continue to be led by CEO Jonathan Akeryod, explained Kors, adding that Donatella, her daughter, Allegra, and Santo would become shareholders in Capri Holdings. Akeryod said in a statement, ‘Since I joined Versace over two years ago, our focus has been on leveraging the company’s heritage and strong brand recognition worldwide, which has allowed us to experience significant growth in all regions. Donatella’s unmatched vision has led to the continued and growing success of our brand. I am thrilled to be joining Capri Holdings Limited, which will be instrumental in accelerating our growth globally.’
Formerly, in 2017, Kors lengthened his business by acquiring Jimmy Choo for about $1.2 billion.
