Valentino says IPO is 'not on the table' for 2017
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London - Valentino reiterated that an initial public offering (IPO) would not be occurring anytime this year, despite a solid increase in its profits and sales in 2016.
"An IPO in 2017 is not on the table and we’ll see what happens in 2018," said chief executive officer Stefano Sassi to WWD. "We’ve shelved it because of market conditions. If things change, we’ll review [the project]. We are not talking about it internally at the moment."
Although the CEO rekindled plans for a potential IPO last March, saying it was "still a project", he stressed that its owner, Mayhoola Group, were not looking to offload the fashion house anytime soon. Rather the Qatar-based group, which first acquired a majority stake in Valentino in 2012, "wants to keep it, with ambitious plans to do even more," added Sassi.
The statement comes as the Italian fashion house continues to go from strengthen to strengthen, in part thanks to the creative direction of Pierpaolo Piccioli. Sassi praised Pierpaolo talent's, who took over the reins alone following the departure of his former partner Marisa Grazia Chiuri, who left for Dior, sharing his "great satisfaction," which proved "Pierpaolo’s very strong creative leadership and the correct stylistic statement — that of an evolving Valentino."