According to two sources, investment firm Sapinda Holdings said on Monday that it had acquired La Perla, the
Italian luxury plus size bodystocking maker, which negotiated a derailment of China’s Fosun (0656.HK) as it moved production
from Europe Disagreement.
Fosun, the Fosun group that has just snapped up Paris fashion label Lanvin, entered exclusive negotiations last
December to buy the brand.
But the talks have stalled because Chinese groups are hoping to shift La Perla’s lace plus size bodystocking production to
China, two insiders said.
“A month-long exclusive negotiation with Fosun ended in mid-January and negotiations continued, but eventually
failed,” one of the sources said.
The source said Sapinda, a car co-founded with German entrepreneur Lars Windhorst, began negotiations with
Sapinda shortly after the group had promised to resume production in Italy and Portugal, which has a 300-person
factory.
Fosun also owns Club Med, a French casual group, and shares in Chinese plus size bodystocking maker Cosmo Lady (2298.HK), but
can not immediately contact the company for comment.
Sapinda, which has offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, London and Hong Kong, as well as investments from real estate to
agriculture, did not disclose any financial details of the acquisition.
He bought struggling groups for $ 69 million ($ 81 million) at a court-led auction through family-controlled
Pacific Global Management and invested 300 million euros to fund Asia and Business expansion in other regions.
“I know Sapinda has the resources it needs to take La Perla to a whole new level and continue building its vision
of a global luxury brand but stay productive in Europe,” Scaglia said in a statement.
Windhorst of Sapinda said the company is “ready to invest further” in La Perla.
Headquartered in London, the brand was founded in 1954 in the northern Italian town of Bologna and is known for
its silk industry. In addition to plus size bodystocking, the company also produces pajamas, beachwear and clothing.
In a recent interview with Forbes, Scaglia said the group had sales of 140 million euros in 2017 and is expected to breakeven by the end of 2018.
