This post was originally published on this site.
Armani reportedly plans to meet LVMH, L’Oréal and EssilorLuxottica in the coming weeks to discuss selling an initial 15% stake under Giorgio Armani’s succession plan.
Armani Chief Executive Giuseppe Marsocci said on Sunday that the holding could be shared among investors, but that the matter remained undecided.
“It is not written in stone that it has to be one investor,” he said while attending the Giorgio Armani fashion show in Milan. A deal would require the parties to agree on price and other terms. Marsocci declined to say whether other prospective investors had approached the group.
Giorgio Armani, the eponymous founder of the fashion group, passed away in September 2025 and instructed his heirs to sell approximately 15% of the privately held company within 12 to 18 months of his death. His will gave priority to the three groups previously mentioned, while allowing for buyers of comparable standing.
Marsocci said Armani intended to follow the founder’s timetable, which places the end of the initial sale window in March 2027. As previously reported, this deadline could be delayed beyond March 2027 as weak luxury market conditions reportedly slowed preparations for the ownership transition.
A shared stake remains one option
Armani had previously considered dividing the 15% equally between LVMH, L’Oréal and EssilorLuxottica, giving each a 5% holding.
“No one wants to jump on it but no one wants to let it pass. This way everyone gets to be around the table,” an unnamed person close to the situation told the Financial Times of the possible split.
The beauty licence L’Oréal holds for Armani runs through 2050; EssilorLuxottica’s eyewear agreement ends in 2038. People close to L’Oréal regard protecting its licence as a priority. People close to EssilorLuxottica have indicated limited appetite for a large stake. LVMH has expressed interest in the process, though people familiar with its thinking have questioned how Armani’s broad business would fit its portfolio.
Agreeing on a price may be challenging. People close to Armani have suggested a figure of about €10 billion; potential investors, by contrast, have valued the company at between €3 billion and €7 billion.
The will also calls for the heirs to dispose of a further 30% to 54.9% of the business over the next three to five years, with a stock-market listing as an alternative.
Armani’s trading backdrop
Prada has ruled out a bid for Armani while it focuses on its Versace turnaround. Within Armani, the post-founder transition has also brought a new creative appointment: Dario Vitale took charge of Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani Accessories this month, the first person who is not part of the Armani family to lead one of its lines.
In its latest financial results, the Armani Group reported a 2.8% decline in sales to €2.192 billion (£1.8 billion) in 2025, which it attributes to the company’s focus on stability and managerial solidity during a year marked by both geopolitical turmoil and wider structural challenges across the sector.