Trussardi, the family-owned Italian luxury brand specialising in leather goods, has been acquired by private equity firm Quattro R, local media reports. BoF has not yet been able to independently confirm the report. According to Italian news site Pambianco, Quattro R will take an 80 percent stake in Trussardi for at least 50 million euros (around $57.1 million). Trussardi has not responded to BoF’s request for comment, and Quattro R has declined to comment on the matter.
The deal will see ownership of Trussardi pass from its founding family — who has controlled it for four generations — for the first time in 107 years. Quattro R, which was established in 2015, specialises in turning around Italian companies in financial difficulty, and is backed by the likes of Italy’s state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and pension fund Cassa Forense.
If Quattro R has indeed sealed the deal, it will mark the fund’s first investment in the fashion sector, though its chairman Andrea Morante — being the chairman of Italian shoemaker Sergio Rossi — is no stranger to the industry.
According to Pambianco, Trussardi’s chief executive Tomaso Trussardi will hold the remaining 20 percent stake in the company. Tomaso’s sister Gaia Trussardi will no longer be a shareholder of the company, while shares belonging to Tomaso’s mother Maria Luisa Gavazzeni will be diluted. Meanwhile, managing director Massimo Dell’Acqua will be leaving his post, and the new management team will be announced when the deal closes in March.
The brand has been experiencing difficulties for years, with acquisition rumours not far behind. In 2015, Trussardi received a 51.5 million euros (around $58.8 million) loan from six local banks and stipulated a capital increase of 5 million euros (around $5.7 million), soon followed by the shuttering of the house’s diffusion line Tru Trussardi. In April, Trussardi was hit by the unexpected resignation of Gaia Trussardi from her role as creative director.
Trussardi operates 177 boutiques and over 1,500 points of sale in 47 countries worldwide. If the reports of a sale are confirmed, Trussardi will diverge from the surge of Italian heritage brands passing to foreign hands in recent months — from American Michael Kors’ acquisition of Versace in September, to the Hong Kong-based Sitoy Group’s taking the reins at A. Testoni in November.
