Zegna (ZGN) might be a 112-year-old, family-owned Italian luxury fashion house, but it knows how to stay youthful and relevant. It's just concluded a merger with US-based SPAC, Investindustrial Acquisition Corp, on the NYSE. The combined company is valued at $3.1b, and is all set to splurge on business expansion to compete with bigger players after the industry was hit hard by Covid-19.
Watched House of Gucci yet? Unlike Gucci going down the private equity route, it seems like going public is another option that Zegna has opted for in a race to fund corporate growth.
Why it matters
Zegna is fashionably late to the trend of Italian family-owned conglomerates to lure in outside investments to boost their market expenses and growth. In 2019, Hussain Sajwani, Chairman of Dubai’s Damac Properties (a real estate developer listed in Dubai Financial Market), purchased the Florence-based Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli.