Texas Pacific linked to Valentino

Texas Pacific Group, the US private equity firm that owns Bally, is in preliminary talks with Italian holding company HdP about the possible purchase of Valentino, the Financial Times reports.

Valentino became part of HdP’s GFT clothes-making business in 1998 when it was bought for $300m. The fashion house, which in the first quarter of this year had revenues of E37m (Q1 2000: E21m), has not lived up to HdP's expectations, even though significant investment has been made.

Selling Valentino would be part of a larger strategic move for HdP which is keen to quit the textile industry altogether. The group has agreed to sell a clothes-making company to Fin.Part, the fashion group that this year took control of Cerruti.