Italian luxury fashion house Prada reached an agreement to acquire its rival Versace for €1.25 billion (around $1.375 billion), Prada said in a statement Thursday.
The transaction will be funded by €1.5 billion in new debt made up of a €1 billion term loan and €0.5 billion in a bridge facility.
“Founded in 1978 in Milan, Versace is one of the leading international fashion design houses and epitome of Italian luxury worldwide. Building on a remarkable brand awareness, Versace stands as a distinctive asset in the luxury landscape,” it said.
“Deeply rooted in the history of fashion, the brand displays strong potential to read contemporaneity and marked sensibility in capturing and anticipating the spirit of today’s and future society,” it added.
Prada said Versace will constitute a strongly complementary addition to the Prada Group’s portfolio and display significant untapped growth potential leveraging multiple value creation levers.
Within the Prada Group, Versace will maintain its creative DNA and cultural authenticity, while benefitting from the full strength of the group’s consolidated platform, including industrial capabilities, retail execution and operational expertise, it said.
“The acquisition of Versace marks another step in the evolutionary journey of our Group, adding a new dimension, different and complementary. The Group’s infrastructure is strong, we have verticalised our brands’ organisations and reinforced our routines and processes,” said Andrea Guerra, the Prada Group CEO.