Cavalli spurns €1.4bn for stake in fashion house

JUST as supermodel Linda Evengelista said she wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day, one of the fashion world’s most popular designers said he won’t consider sitting around the negotiating table for less than €1.4 billion.

Italian designer Roberto Cavalli said he wants more than €1.4bn to sell his fashion label, Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reported yesterday.

“Sell for €1.4bn? For that amount I won’t even sit down at the negotiating table,” he told the paper.

Last year the designer, who is popular with celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Lopez, hired Merrill Lynch & to find a buyer for a majority stake in his company.

He said he wants a partner to help develop the Florence, Italy-based fashion house.

The investment bank has nearly completed an information memorandum and will be ready to receive bids for the company soon.

Private equity companies reportedly interested in buying Cavalli include Permira Advisors, Cinven Ltd, Carlyle Group and Blackstone Capital Partners.

US buyout fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co is also believed to have approached Mr Cavalli in the past.

The Cavalli fashion house had sales last year of €238m and a profit margin of 39%.

Roberto Cavalli runs the company with his wife Eva, a former Miss Austria.

He designed an exclusive line for H&M and in its& flagship store in San Francisco the women’s line sold out within the first 10 minutes and the men’s line sold out within 3 hours.