MILAN — The state-appointed administrators of IT Holding SpA launched the auction of the Gianfranco Ferré fashion house and of Italian manufacturing firm Ittierre SpA on Wednesday, as sale regulations indicating terms and conditions were published in several newspapers.
Binding offers for Ferré, which should include business plans to continue the company’s activities, must be submitted to administrators Stanislao Chimenti, Andrea Ciccoli and Roberto Spada no later than July 6. The commissioners also are putting up for sale a property that houses a Ferré store in Porto Cervo, the exclusive resort town on Sardinia. Sources said the following are looking at the Ferré dossier: Milan- and Vicenza-based private equity firm Palladio Finanziaria; New York-based merchant banking firm Prodos Capital Management and hedge fund firm Amber Capital Investment Management, also headquartered in New York.
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Designer Gianfranco Ferré died June 17, 2007. The Fondazione Gianfranco Ferré, established in 2008 to preserve the designer’s work and managed by Ferré’s cousin and collaborator Rita Airaghi, is working on reorganizing more than 6,000 outfits that are to be exhibited in the fall in a new, dedicated space in Milan.
Nonbinding letters of interest in Ittierre must be submitted to the administrators by Wednesday. A due-diligence period running from June 27 to July 25 will follow. Ittierre produces collections Just Cavalli, C’N’C Costume National, Galliano, Ermanno Ermanno Scervino, GF Ferré and Extè. Binding offers, which also must include proposals on how to preserve the business, are to be submitted no later than Aug. 2.
IT Holding, which has been in government-backed bankruptcy protection since February 2009, also is selling cashmere knitwear brand Malo. Earlier this month, Malo received four bids, following a public auction and a one-month due-diligence investigation. Advised by Mediobanca and Sin&rgetica, the administrators are considering the offers.
A list of bidders is not available. According to sources, the following have expressed interest in Malo: sock and knitwear company Ciocca, founded in 1912 and located near Brescia, Italy, which also controls the Drumohr brand; Enzo D’Addario, who owns one of Italy’s main auto dealers; entrepreneur Michele Prestipino through his firm Partecipazioni e Investimenti, and luxury retailer group Evante.