LVMH to buy 80% in Italian luxury cashmere clothing brand Loro Piana for $2.57 bn

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the French multinational luxury goods conglomerate, yesterday said that it will pay the Loro Piana family €2 billion ($2.57 billion) for an 80 per cent stake in Italian luxury cashmere clothing brand Loro Piana.

Loro Piana operates in the luxury products sector, offering a full line of clothing, accessories and gifts which are all made in Italy with the best raw materials procured from all over the world.

Loro Piana's heritage and experience dates back to six generations in the production of high-quality textiles, a sector in which it is the market leader.

The Loro Piana family began trading wool and fine textiles at the beginning of the 19th century and in 1924, Pietro Loro Piana established the business in Qarona Sesia, Italy.

The business has been carried on by Sergio and Pier Luigi Loro Piana and the company has become the word's leading artisan in cashmere and the rarest wools.

Loro Piana makes menswear, womenswear and sportswear products as well as top quality yarns. It is the largest cashmere manufacturer and the biggest single purchaser of the world's finest wools.

Loro Piana has a global network of more than 130 exclusive boutiques and had 2012 sales of around €630 million ($815 million).

''The Loro Piana family is proud that our name is now associated with the LVMH Group. Under Bernard Arnault's leadership, LVMH has proved that it respects and nurtures family businesses and is most likely to respect the values and traditions of our Maison, as well as our desire to provide our clientele with unparalleled quality,'' said, Sergio and Pier.

''Loro Piana is an exceptionally rare Maison, rare in the unique quality and craftsmanship in its products, not least in cashmere and fine textiles, but also in the unbroken heritage and careful family husbandry over six generations. I am very pleased that Sergio and Pier Luigi Loro Piana believe that our group is best able to ensure the future of the house of Loro Piana,'' said, Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH.

Sergio and Pier will hold the remaining 20 per cent stake and continue to run the company.

LVMH, the maker of Celine handbags and TAG Heuer watches, said that it will fund the deal through available cash and new debt made up of short-term commercial paper and a medium-term bond, and expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter.