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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Luxury shoemaker Tod’s said its founding family is teaming up with LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton to take it private.
- L Catterton will acquire 36% of Tod’s shares if the transaction obtains shareholder approval.
- Tod’s founding family, the Della Valle family, will maintain control with a 54% ownership if the deal passes.
The founding family of Tod’s and private equity firm L Catterton are joining forces and have offered to take the luxury-loafer maker private and delist it from the Milan stock exchange.
L Catterton will pay 43 euros per share ($46.30) for a 36% stake in Tod’s, which translates to nearly an 18% premium over Tod’s share price close on Friday, the shoemaker said in a statement Saturday. L Catterton is backed by French luxury conglomerate Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (OTC: LVMUY ), commonly referred to as LVMH.
The Della Valle family, which founded and built the business, will retain its 54% of the shoemaker’s shares after the delisting and will control the company.
LVMH currently holds 10% of Tod’s shares, and would continue to own the same amount after the proposed delisting, which values the company at 1.32 billion euros ($1.42 billion). The founding family reportedly said in a statement that delisting the firm would help it grow Tod’s outside the restraints of a public listing.
This isn’t the Della Valle family’s first attempt at taking Tod’s private. A previous 40-euro-per-share bid wasn’t successful after it failed to get enough shareholder approval. Tod’s went public in 2000.