Three months after the announcement of the friendly takeover bid on the luxury group Tod’s, LCatterton returns to invest in Italy. This time the global fund – in whose management company LVMH has a 40% stake – is aiming straight at the world of Made in Italy cosmetics. LCatterton has in fact signed an agreement for the acquisition of a majority share – around 60% – of Kiko Milano, a leading Italian brand in beauty founded by the Percassi family, which will maintain a significant stake in the company which has a turnover of 800 million and continues to grow (671 million in 2022, +42%). The dynasty will remain in the control room of the group. The operation, according to sources close to the dossier, would be around 1.5 billion dollars.
The partnership
«At the end of the 1990s, we founded a brand that has become an international brand, loved by all generations of consumers and grown exponentially. We are open to a partnership with an investor of international importance such as L Catterton, who we believe will be able to contribute to accelerating the growth of Kiko on a global level, providing vast experience and a large network in the cosmetics sector”, stated Antonio Percassi , who will retain the position of president. The family was assisted by BofA, Intesa Sanpaolo (IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division), Bnp Paribas, and by the lawyers of Gatti Pavesi Bianchi Ludovici plus Deloitte.
He has already invested in Birkenstock, Etro, Intercos
For LCatterton, assisted by the Bonelli Erede firm and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, it is a new step in the consumer sector which already sees it as a protagonist with investments in Italy – from Etro and Intercos – and abroad: Birkenstock, Elemis, ETVOS, Maria Nilla and Oddity . «We have significant experience in developing leading brands in Europe and we look forward to working alongside CEO Simone Dominici and his team to exploit the incredible potential of the company», underlined Arabella Caporello, partner of L Catterton Europe.
Dominici’s role
«The quality of innovative products, accessibility, personalized advice and an attractive packaging design are the distinctive elements of the brand. I am confident that this partnership with L Catterton can help us take KIKO towards new and even more ambitious goals”, said Simone Dominici, the CEO of Kiko who, explains the fund, will play a key role in this second phase of growth . Dominici joined Kiko in 2022 after a career between Unilever, Bottega Veneta and then Coty. He will lead the company in a transformation process aimed at making Kiko the reference Beauty Brand in Europe and one of the main global players, “spreading the Italian culture of beauty”. To make the leap higher, the presence of a large international fund was important
