MILAN — Private equity firm Permira is acquiring a majority stake in Gruppo Florence from existing shareholders VAM Investments, Fondo Italiano d’Investimento, Italmobiliare, and Gruppo Florence’s entrepreneurs.

The entrepreneurs, the management team and VAM Investments will reinvest a good portion of their proceeds and can remain committed to the project. Fondo Italiano d’Investimento may also retain a minority stake.

Attila Kiss will proceed to guide Gruppo Florence as chief executive officer and Francesco Trapani will retain his role as chairman.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. As reported, speculation a few possible Permira interest in Gruppo Florence had been circulating for months.

“Our industrial project involves significant investments in training, revolutionary digital tools, research on sustainable production processes, and qualified management for the design and implementation of those programs,” said Kiss. “To realize our ambitions, it’s needed to bring together a big variety of corporations, particularly leveraging their heritage and expertise.”

Gruppo Florence was established in October 2020 with the goal of developing a platform to provide high-quality Made in Italy products to major luxury fashion brands, leveraging competitive prices, guaranteeing prompt and versatile deliveries and solutions, while safeguarding the technical and cultural know-how of small and medium-sized family-owned Italian corporations.

Former Bulgari and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton executive Trapani, who can also be chairman of VAM Investments, said “the high interest we received from many entrepreneurs who spontaneously sought to hitch Gruppo Florence clearly demonstrates that the intuition of enhancing the consolidation of the Made in Italy luxury supply chain was a winning decision. We’re ready now to partner with Permira for the second phase of Gruppo Florence’s growth.”

The group has quickly grown to own 26 corporations from informal outerwear manufacturers Emmegi and Giuntini to Ciemmeci, an organization that focuses on the production of leather and fur pieces and footwear specialists Lorenza Calzaturificio and Novarese, to call just a few.

As is customary for Gruppo Florence, the founding families have agreed to reinvest within the holding as minority shareholders.

The group generated revenues of greater than 600 million euros in 2022.

Permira partner Francesco Pascalizi said “we’re true believers within the Gruppo Florence industrial vision and within the role of ‘Made in Italy’ throughout the luxury supply chain.”

The deal, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals, is anticipated to shut within the fourth quarter of 2023.

As reported, Gruppo Florence can also be earmarking investments of around 20 million euros, of which around 50 percent is destined for the expansion of the operations, production and industrial spaces; 4 million euros will likely be channeled into technology, and 5 million euros within the strengthening of the production and logistic plans to support a better level of service.

With the goal to expand production and construct recent plants to maneuver some steps internally, improving the welfare of employees and the commercial performance, and investing also in machines, the group is planning a variety of real estate projects.

The group expects to rent 200 recent employees, in search of tailors and quality control technicians, operations managers or IT and legal specialists, to call just a few positions. 

As reported, in March Kiss revealed in the course of the Future for Fashion conference in Florence that the corporate’s “destiny” is an initial public offering.

Permira has over time invested in fashion in Valentino and Golden Goose, for instance.