Michael Kors Holdings Ltd., the multinational fashion company responsible for Michael Kors-branded handbags, watches, clothing, shoes, and other accessories, is reportedly set to acquire the Italian fashion house Versace in a deal worth around $2 billion. This decision has come one year after the company’s purchase of luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo.

Rumors of the deal surfaced early Monday morning, September 24th, in the wake Versace’s Spring 2019 Ready-to-Wear runway show. If Michael Kors follows through with the acquisition, ownership of the Versace label will be taken from the Versace family for the first time since Gianni Versace founded the fashion house almost 40 years ago, according to Elle. The Versace family currently owns 80 percent of the company, while U.S. private equity group Blackstone owns 80 percent following a deal in 2014. Should Michael Kors acquire Versace, the Versace family will still have a role in the company, but Blackwell will sell its stakes.

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According to a Bloomberg report following Michael Kors’ $1.2 billion acquisition of Jimmy Choo, the company is seeking to buy several luxury fashion brands in an effort to regain lost sales. The brand known for its handbags opened too many stores and relied too heavily on department stores and discounters like T.J. Maxx to stock their products at low prices, the report said.

Michael Kors is also attempting to diversify their product offerings beyond handbags—much like rival fashion house Coach Inc., which bought Stuart Weitzman in 2015 and struck a $2.4 billion deal to purchase Kate Spade in May last year. Michael Kors’ deal with Jimmy Choo, and their pending deal with Versace, will allow the company to catch up a bit to Coach.

According to Women’s Wear Daily, other luxury giants including French brands Louis Vuitton and Kering, and American brands Tiffany & Co. and Tapestry, Inc. have also been looking at deals with Versace in the past few months.

Donatella Versace, who took over as creative director of the fashion house and has helped run the company alongside her brother Santo Versace following the death of their brother Gianni Versace in 1997, called a meeting with employees Tuesday to announce the sale. While no official agreements have been made yet, an announcement within the next few days is expected.

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Elise Nelson (103 Articles Published)

Elise has been passionate about writing since her elementary school days when she created short stories about dancing skeletons and talking trees. As she grew older, her curiosity and love of research merged with her love of writing to spark a passion for journalism. Since graduating from Albright College in Reading, Pa with a B.A. in Communications/Journalism, she has pursued every writing opportunity in her path from fashion blog posts to long-form marketing guides. You can find Elise wherever there are copious amounts of coffee, music, tacos, and dogs. Follow Elise on Instagram and Twitter: @leesymariexo

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