Twin set, a fashion house from Carpi, in the province of Modena, now owned by the Carlyle Fund could pass into the hands of the Borletti Group, one of the major Italian industrial dynasties. The group, according to rumours Courier, would be ready to shell out for the Emilian company led by CEO Stefano Varisco, between 200 and 250 million euros. The sale process, managed by Rothschild advisers, is still open, with binding offers expected by the mid October.
Two other international funds are interested
There should be others in the running two international funds, but Borletti currently appears to be in pole position. This summer three funds have shown concrete interest in Twinset, making preliminary offers with a valuation of approximately 300-350 million euros. Among the potential buyers there would be financial and Asian players, but also the American group Elliot, which in Italy is known above all for its investments in Tim and AC Milan.
Founded by the Borletti family, one of the major Italian industrial dynasties (already owners of Rinascente and the French chain Printemps), the company has had other fashion companies in its portfolio of around 3 billion: the technical down jackets MooRer, the Australian clothing brand Zimmermann and the Canadian Moose knuckles. In Italy, the Borletti group has invested in Grandi Stazione Retail, manager of the major Italian railway stations about to pass under the control of the Dws and Omers funds for around 1,2 billion. And it is still a partner in the pharmacy chain Hippocrates alongside the French fund Antin.
The listing and the aggregation with Pinko were planned
This is not the first time that Carlyle has started a procedure for the sale of Twinset: in 2020, a procedure was started to identify a new investor, but the pandemic blocked everything. Among the hypotheses evaluated in the past and then not materialized, there was also a listing of the fashion brand on Piazza Affari and a merger with the Pinko Group.
Twinset: Revenues expected at 2024 million and gross operating margin at 210 million in 35
Twinset was founded in 1987 by Simona Barbieri and Tiziano Sgarbi, joined in the capital in 2008 by the Dgpa capital fund. Four years later, the American fund Carlyle entered the shareholding structure and then gradually increased to 100% and started a path of internationalization and growth. The company should close the 2024 with revenues growing at approximately 210 million and a gross operating margin of around 35 million. Twinset operates 100 company-owned stores and 90 franchises and, in mid-September, showed for the second time at Milan Fashion Week.
