Escada has found a buyer at last, though the end result is not what we had anticipated.
We had heard through the grapevine that the financial backer would likely end up being Sven Ley, the son of Escada's founder, Wolfgang Ley. Ley had formed a consortium with former Gucci head Giacomo Santucci and Italian investment group Borletti. The result seemed like a capable and experienced team with deep pockets, but it seems a union with Escada was not meant to be for the trio. Instead, as Escada put it, "the insolvency administrator of Escada AG signed a sale and transfer agreement with one of the Mittal Family Trusts," specifically Megha Mittal.
Who, you ask, is Megha Mittal? Well, she's the 33-year-old daughter-in-law of Lakshmi Mittal, the CE of the powerful steel company ArcelorMitta. Mr. Mittal is the eighth richest person in the world and the richest person in the UK, which is where he lives. Ms. Mittal had apparently wanted to make a fashion investment for a while and had been eying various labels, but ultimately went with Escada. All of Escada's major business assets and shares in its subsidiaries will be transferred to Mittal's trust, save those that work to guarantee Escada's bond.
While Ley had wanted to replace the current CEO, Bruno Saelzer, Mittal supports Saelzer's plans to revive the company, which include making the label more affordable while maintaining its luxuriousness. The idea is to offer more daywear and not rely on pricey evening gowns to keep the brand afloat.
While the price of the sale remains undisclosed, we're sure it went for a pretty penny.
Gongrats to the Mittal family! And super congrats to Escada, who will manage to stay in the game a lot longer now.
[Image via AP Images.]
Posted: November 6, 2009 at 12:00 pm
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