Fashion icons Zegna and Etro fall as spacs and private equity swoop 

Italian fashion icons Zegna and Etro fall as spacs and private equity firms swoop

Italian fashion house Zegna will go public in a £2.3billion Spac deal in New York later this year.

The luxury retailer sells men’s suits and smart-casual wear, including shirts priced at £1,330 and bomber jackets at £6,110.

Zegna has been family-owned since it started as a fabric maker in 1910 in Trivero, in the Piedmont region. 

Private equity firm L Catterton, which is backed by LVMH, the owner of Luis Vuitton, has agreed to buy a 60 per cent stake in Etro (worn by the model, pictured)

Private equity firm L Catterton, which is backed by LVMH, the owner of Luis Vuitton, has agreed to buy a 60 per cent stake in Etro (worn by the model, pictured)

It will list through a Spac – a special purpose acquisition company – called Investindustrial Acquisition Corp, whose chairman is Sergio Ermotti, the former boss of investment bank UBS. 

The company is looking to raise £640million.

Spacs, also known as ‘blank cheque companies’, are empty firms which list on the stock market, raising millions from investors with the purpose of buying an existing company.

In another major move on an Italian family-led fashion group, a private equity firm backed by LVMH, the owner of Luis Vuitton, has agreed to buy a 60 per cent stake in Etro. 

The deal with L Catterton values Etro at around £430million, according to reports.

L Catterton also recently swooped on trendy sandal-maker Birkenstock.

source: dailymail.co.uk