Permira in talks for Cavalli

The company is owned by eponymous designer Roberto Cavalli, though a partnership with a private equity owner, including Permira, had been considered in the past.

A number of GPs expressed an interest in the asset in 2008, when players including Cinven, Carlyle, Clessidra and Permira were reported to be circling the firm as part of an auction process organised by Merrill Lynch. 

In June 2009, Roberto Cavalli signed a letter of intent to sell a 30% stake in the firm to Clessidra. However, discussions ground to a halt over the summer due to pricing disagreements. Estimates at the time speculated that the deal could be valued at €100m, putting the enterprise value at around €300m (around 9x EBITDA) – a significant discount from what the designer had initially quoted as asking price.

Permira declined to comment.

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• Topics
• Southern Europe
• Buyouts
• Consumer
• Italy
• Permira