Mystery Buyer of Gucci Stake Emerges
Bahrain investment bank Investcorp on Tuesday identified itself as the mystery buyer that had acquired nearly half of Gucci of Italy, the luxury goods company, for an undisclosed sum.
In a statement released in Italy, Investcorp said it had bought nearly 50% of the company from various members of the Gucci family over the last eight months.
The investment bank acts as a channel for private Arab investment in Western companies, and its past acquisitions included a stake in Tiffany & Co. of New York.
Investcorp considers its investment in the luxury leather goods firm a long-term one, said Paul Dimitruk, a member of Investcorp’s management committee.
“We are not seeking to buy further Gucci shares. We are certain that our relations with other Gucci shareholders and the current management will be lengthy, stable and harmonious,” Dimitruk said in the statement.
“Currently, we are arranging to develop other accords to guarantee the management and the control of the company in the future,” he said.
Investcorp said the Gucci shares were purchased for it by the American investment bank Morgan Stanley Group. In April, Gucci said Morgan Stanley had been snapping up shares on behalf of an unidentified buyer. Gucci said then that Morgan Stanley had accumulated a 48% stake after buying huge blocks from two family members.
Family Members Feuding
Investcorp did not say how much it spent buying the Gucci shares, but London’s Financial Times newspaper earlier this week estimated the value of the holding Morgan Stanley amassed at about $135 million.
Gucci family members have been feuding for several years, and the company’s stock structure is clouded by a legal dispute. Fifty percent of the shares, which former Gucci Chairman Maurizio Gucci says he inherited from his father Rodolfo, are held by court-appointed custodians pending a challenge to this claim.
Investcorp is closely following this legal challenge, Dimitruk said. “The expectation of Investcorp is to create with Maurizio Gucci a long-term company strategy once his legal problems are resolved,” he said.
“Investcorp believes absolutely in the independence of the company and it intends to preserve its trademark, tradition and the high-quality reputation of its products and services,” the statement said. It added that Investcorp aimed to have good relations with Gucci Chairman Maria Martellini, who was named to the position last August by the court-appointed custodians of Maurizio Gucci’s 50% interest.
