Prada Buys Versace For Nearly $1.4 Billion--After Trump's Tariffs Almost Derailed Acquisition
Source: Forbes
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Prada Buys Versace For Nearly $1.4 Billion--After Trump's Tariffs Almost Derailed Acquisition
Ty Roush
Forbes Staff
Ty Roush is a breaking news reporter based in New York City.
Topline Luxury fashion firm Prada Group reached an agreement with Capri Holdings to acquire designer brand Versace in a deal valued at $1.38 billion, Prada announced Thursday, after earlier reports indicated the two Italian fashion staples struggled to close the transaction as President Donald Trump's tariffs roiled markets.
Key Facts
* Prada will fund its acquisition of Versace, approved by both companies' boards, with about $1.6 billion in new debt after borrowing more than $1 billion, Prada announced Thursday.
* Prada and Versace expect the transaction to close in the second half of the year, pending approval by regulators.
* A deal between Prada and Versace was nearly derailed after Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners, requiring companies to start relying on higher costs to source raw materials as fears of a recession loomed, the Wall Street Journal reported.
* The value of Versace's parent company, the New York-based Capri Holdings, fell to as low as $1.5 billion as Trump's tariffs led to a historic selloff in the U.S. stock market, and Prada had negotiated the price to buy Versace down from $1.6 billion to just under $1.4 billion, people with direct knowledge of the talks told the Financial Times.
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Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/04/10/prada-buys-versace-for-nearly-14-billion-after-trumps-tariffs-almost-derailed-acquisition/
Hat tip, the New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/style/prada-versace-deal.html
Prada to Buy Versace for Nearly $1.4 Billion
The deal is a big bet on the value of “Made In Italy.”
Miuccia Prada, left, and Donatella Versace schmoozing at a party years before the deal. Michel Dufour/WireImage
By Vanessa Friedman
April 10, 2025, 8:33 a.m. ET
On Thursday, in the biggest luxury deal of the year, Prada announced it was buying Versace for 1.25 billion euros ($1.38 billion) from Capri Holdings, a beleaguered New York group that at one point styled itself as the American answer to the great fashion groups of France.
The deal is a sign of faith in the continued value of Made in Italy at a time when the financial markets are in chaos because of President Trump’s whipsawing tariff policies. And it marks the end of Capri’s attempt to create an American luxury group to rival LVMH and Kering, while signaling an attempt by Prada to create an Italian competitor to the powerhouses.
“It’s a bold and ambitious move by Prada,” said Robert Burke, the eponymous founder of Robert Burke Associates. “The acquisition would position Prada to diversify its portfolio and compete on a larger global stage.”
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Vanessa Friedman has been the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The Times since 2014.