L Catterton to Sell Ganni Up to $700 Million, According to Sources
LONDON — The LVMH-affiliated private equity firm L Catterton is selling the Danish contemporary fashion label Ganni, which it acquired in 2017 for an undisclosed amount, in a deal that could value the brand between $500 million to $700 million.
Reuters broke the news on Thursday, citing two sources familiar with the situation.
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It’s understood that L Catterton has appointed investment bank Lazard to run the sale process, and several Chinese buyers showed interest. One source said non-binding bids are due by July 25.
It’s no surprise that Chinese buyers are front runners in the deal. China-focused investors including Lanvin Group and Sequoia China have been active in the M&A market in recent years to help brands scale in the world’s largest luxury market with their local expertise. The latter snatched We11done at the beginning of 2022, and has also invested in Ami and Ssense.
Ming Yan, founder of fashion boutique Looknow, which organized a popup for the Danish brand in Shanghai last year, a first in the city, thinks the brand will do well in the Chinese market.
“It found the right balance between lifestyle and fashion, also the price point is not that unattainable, which means commercially, it will have a lot of potentials,” Yan said.
In an earlier interview with WWD, the brand’s chief executive officer Andrea Baldo said China, as well as the U.S., are top of the agenda for Ganni.
The label made its first steps in the market through third-party retailers like Net-a-porter and Ssense, and last year opened its own store on Tmall.
“The results have been mind-blowing. It’s been much better than what we have anticipated because the market was ready,” Baldo said. “There was a lot more awareness, probably because of the influence that we already have in Korea and because of social media.…The numbers are really what will push us forward to the next step of opening a store. It was a medium-term goal but it’s top of my agenda now.”
Pascal Martin, OC&C Strategy Consulting partner, told WWD earlier that Chinese firms are better positioned to work with brands that sit outside of luxury, which happens to be the case for Ganni.
“If you are a mass brand, it’s more about consumer insights and marketing approaches,” he said. “Then the challenge is to really have the capability to scale and expand. The emphasis is much more on having a very strong operational capability.”
L Catterton declined to comment. Ganni did not respond to WWD’s request for comment at press time.
Lanvin Group, IDG and Cathay Capital confirmed with WWD that they are not involved with the Ganni deal.
The Danish brand, founded in 2000, now sells globally via around 400 points of sales and various digital channels.
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