The spotlights are turned back on Stefanel's future. To offer new hope is Ovs which yesterday, November 15, he presented a binding offer to acquire some assets of Stefanel, under extraordinary administration since September 2019, including "the historic brand of the company". A move that the investors of Piazza Affari seem to approve. In the morning the title Ovs it rises by 7,3%, reaching 1,104 euros.
“In view of the size of this offer, the necessary financial means are largely in the current availability of the group”, reads a note from Ovs. Despite this, the shareholders' meeting unanimously approved un capital increase of 80 million euro to “seize growth opportunities through external lines, through mergers and acquisitions”.
“In the medium term, in a context in which many players are leaving the Italian market, the spaces for growth and consolidation are more attractive than before and also include offer segments characterized by higher price ranges, allowing us to capitalize even more plus our skills by leveraging the quality of our products”, said the managing director of Ovs, Stefano Beraldo.
According to rumors, the assets put up for sale would concern two business units: the first is Stefanel and includes the brand, the headquarters in Ponte di Piave (Veneto), a network of over 30 stores and equity investments in subsidiaries in Poland, Romania and Portugal; the second is Interfashion based in Rimini and with the "High" brand. Ovs' interest would be limited to Stefanel brand and some shops of the Venetian group.
In parallel the clothing company also presented the accounts for the first nine months of 2020, closed with sales down by 25,7% to 736,7 million euros. The ebitda collapsed by 60% to 40,1 million, while the ebit is negative for 3,1 million. Signs of optimism, however, came from the third quarter, when sales rose by 6,1% compared to the same period of 2019, reaching 361 million.
Moving on to Stefanel, the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the difficulties of the Veneto company. After the declaration of insolvency and the request for authorization of the sale by the commissioners, the longed-for agreement was never reached. Ovs' offer could therefore represent the first real rescue opportunity. At stake is the future of 200 employees.
