Aeffe net debt steady at 112.6 million euros as rescue deal takes shape

Italian fashion group Aeffe, owner of Moschino and Alberta Ferretti, ended July with net debt of 112.61 million euros, barely moved from 112.37 million euros a month earlier, as it works to negotiate its way out of a financial crisis. Of that total, 96.37 million euros is short-term borrowing against 29.06 million euros of medium- to long-term debt and 12.82 million euros of cash, meaning more than three quarters of what the group owes falls due within a year. The company disclosed the figures in a statement on Monday.

Aeffe and its footwear subsidiary Pollini spa have been in a negotiated settlement procedure for business crisis, known in Italy as composizione negoziata della crisi (Cnc), since October 2, 2025. The procedure lets a distressed company renegotiate with its creditors while continuing to trade, guided by an independent expert instead of moving straight to insolvency proceedings. It has now been extended to October 4, 2026.

A hearing on September 9, 2026 will decide on granting and extending so-called selective precautionary measures, which shield specific assets from being seized by individual creditors while talks continue. Aeffe and Pollini requested them against certain corporate creditors.

Talks moved to Rome at the end of July for a further meeting at Mimit, Italy's ministry of enterprises and Made in Italy, which mediates industrial crises where jobs are at stake. There it emerged that the Ferretti family, which still controls the group, has tabled a binding offer to relaunch the business, together with Invitalia, the Italian state-owned investment agency, investment fund Oxy Capital and an unnamed Chinese industrial partner.

The transaction is valued at roughly 115 million euros and, according to the company, would keep and invest in the group's historic brands, continue manufacturing and preserve employment levels. It also hands the industrial partner an exclusive licence for Moschino in China, intended to build the brand's presence and expand sales there.

Business would be split into three companies

Under the offer, a newly formed company owned by Oxy and a pool of co-investors would acquire substantially all of Aeffe's business. On completion, that company would immediately be split into three separate operating businesses: one for Moschino, one for Alberta Ferretti, and one combining the group's production site at San Giovanni in Marignano in northern Italy with Pollini.

The structure keeps the businesses trading, though under new ownership rather than inside Aeffe itself. Management said in the statement that the offer is backed by a detailed industrial project to relaunch the brands "through a plan to strengthen industrial and commercial activities, operational efficiency measures, and initiatives aimed at enhancing the group's wealth of expertise in its respective reference markets".

The next meeting at Mimit is set for September 28, when the bidders will present their industrial plan. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, once due diligence is finished and the contracts are agreed.