Billionaire Della Valle family’s £283m offer to take their luxury shoe brand Tod’s private
High-end: Gigi Hadid models Tod’s spring/summer collection
The billionaire Della Valle family will bid for the privatization of the luxury shoe store they founded.
Brothers Diego and Andrea Della Valle own 64.5 per cent of Milan-listed Tod’s and will make a £283m offer for a further 26 per cent of the shares, valuing Tod’s at £1.1bn. A 10 percent stake is owned by Delphine SAS, part of the LVMH luxury group.
Tod’s was founded by the Della Valle brothers’ grandfather, Filippo, as a small shoe factory in the 1920s. Since then, it has taken over brands like Fay and Hogan, and is famous for its own Gommino loafers, which They sell for £500.
The purchase of Della Valles is the latest attempt to relaunch a company that, like other Italian brands that built their name on craftsmanship, has struggled to attract younger customers. It had annual sales of £740m and £20m profit last year.
The brothers’ offer price matches Tod’s offer price when it was listed in Milan in 2000. Their plan will see Tod’s go public after 22 years. Shares rose 20 percent after the offering. A statement from the family said: “Through this strategy we want to position the brands in the high-end luxury market.”
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