PARIS/MILAN- Shares in luxury puffer coat maker Moncler surged over 11% on Thursday, after a report of potential takeover interest from French conglomerate Kering.
Shares in the Gucci owner were marginally up by 0.65% in early trading on the Paris bourse, after Bloomberg reported on Wednesday evening that the companies had held exploratory talks about a possible combination or deal.
The two firms declined to comment.
The report comes hot on the heels of LVMH’s agreed $16 billion takeover of jeweller Tiffany last month, and talk of further bid activity in the luxury industry led to a broader sector rally, with shares in Britain’s Burberry and Italy’s Salvatore Ferragamo also rising.
Moncler has become of the industry’s biggest success stories in recent years, after a makeover under Italian entrepreneur Remo Ruffini, who bought it out in 2003 and is still the chief executive. It listed on Milan’s stock market six years ago.
The label – worth over 10 billion euros (8.6 billion pounds) on the stock market, and which derives its name from Monestier-de-Clermont, a mountain village near Grenoble in France – gave its jackets, which sell for more than $1,000, a more fashionable twist.
It has benefited from a fad for high-end streetwear, and even dresses movie stars in quilted dresses on the red carpet.
But analysts and industry insiders have sometimes questioned whether its model, which is more heavily reliant on a single product than most rivals, is sustainable in the long run.
That has led to speculation that Ruffini could even be a buyer and build out his company, or could look to sell.
The businessman, who owns over 22% in the group, had exploratory contacts with Kering about a potential deal around the time of its flotation, a source familiar with the matter said.
But Ruffini has given few indications since that he would be willing to sell, several people familiar with his thinking said.
Paris-based Kering, which also owns Saint Laurent and Balenciaga and is run by billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault, is heavily reliant on Gucci for revenues and profit.
The Italian fashion label has also undergone a spectacular turnaround, and outperformed most peers in recent years, although sales growth is slowing.
(Content and photos syndicated via Reuters)