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The heirs of the late Italian billionaire Giorgio Armani prefer an eventual stock market listing of his fashion house to a sale to a large luxury group, and are leaning toward splitting the first 15% of the company among two or more buyers to keep that option open, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Talks on the initial 15% stake are under way, and a sale is expected by March 2027, the deadline set in Armani's will. Bankers and advisers value Giorgio Armani SpA at €5 billion to €7 billion ($5.6 billion to $7.8 billion), which would make a sale or a listing one of the biggest deals in the luxury industry in a decade.
Dividing the first stake would stop any single strategic buyer from becoming the front-runner to take a larger piece of the company later, according to the people. One of them said the group is under no financial pressure to sell quickly.
The Armani group, L'Oréal SA and EssilorLuxottica SA declined to comment. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE was not immediately available.
What the will requires
Armani, who died in September 2025 at the age of 91, never sold any part of the business he co-founded with Sergio Galeotti in 1975. His will told his heirs to sell about 15% of the company 12 to 18 months after his death, and then either sell a further 30% to 54.9% or list the company on a stock exchange. Under the will, a listing should take place within three to eight years of his death, and Milan is the preferred exchange.
The will names L'Oréal, EssilorLuxottica and LVMH, the luxury group controlled by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, as preferred buyers, while allowing a sale to another industry player of "equal standing." It says the buyer of the first stake should preferably be the one that buys the larger block.
L'Oréal and EssilorLuxottica are the most engaged of the suitors so far, the people said. Both want to protect long-standing licensing deals with the house. L'Oréal makes Armani's fragrances and cosmetics under a license that runs until 2050, while EssilorLuxottica, the Franco-Italian eyewear maker, produces Armani glasses.
The 15% block carries a single seat on the board, and it is not clear how that seat would be handled if the stake is divided among several investors. In late September, Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Marsocci told reporters in Milan that "it is not written in stone that it has to be one investor." Rothschild & Co is advising the company.
Who controls the house
Armani left control of the company to a small group led by Pantaleo "Leo" Dell'Orco, his partner of several decades and the head of menswear design. Dell'Orco holds 40% of the voting rights and chairs the board of the Giorgio Armani Foundation, which holds 30% and must keep at least 30.1% of the company permanently. The designer's niece Silvana Armani and nephew Andrea Camerana hold 15% of the voting rights each. The foundation also proposes the company's chief executive.
The heirs are preparing the sale as the luxury industry works through weaker demand. Armani's revenue fell 2.8% at constant exchange rates to €2.19 billion ($2.45 billion) in 2025, while EBITDA before lease accounting rose 3.2% to €152.7 million ($171 million). The company ended the year with €529 million ($592 million) in net cash.
Figures were converted at $1.12 to the euro.
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