The Sesto Fiorentino maison Roberto Cavalli seems to be close to the sale in favor of Vtb Capital, the investment baking division of the Russian bank Vtb. The agreement would concern the acquisition of 60% of the fashion house with the offer from the Russians which would have more than doubled the previous one from Permira, reaching 500 million.
The rumors originally revealed by the Russian newspaper Vedomosti and rebroadcast by the American fashion magazine Womens Wear Daily and Bloomberg, would come from sources close to the top managers of the maison. Roberto Cavalli himself confirmed, a few days ago, the interest of the Russians in his fashion house who have begun a negotiation, of which, however, the designer does not say a word, emphasizing that there is still nothing concrete.
The news also fits into the vast scenario that has emerged following the financial sanctions that Europe and the USA have inflicted on Russia in tandem. Among the fines, in fact, there is precisely the impediment for Russian groups to invest in European companies, such as the Cavalli maison. In this regard, Victor Shchukin, co-owner of the consulting firm Esper Group, would have intervened by pointing out how such a substantial shareholding operation as that of Vtb in Cavalli would be configured, reflects the belief that Western penalties against Putin are not a measure permanent and short-lived.
