Cavalli courted by private equity firms?

Private equity firms such as SAB Capital appear to be interested in fashion house Roberto Cavalli. A source close to the Italian designer has revealed that he was disappointed by valuations of his company by several bidders. WWD, who spoke with the source, reports that Cavalli believes his company to be worth in excess of EUR1 billion and is seeking minority investments or a possible public offering in a few years.

Although company executives have declined to comment, WWD revealed that one of the private equity groups said to have shown interest is SAB Capital, a new fund set up by Sheikh Salah Al-Belawi. According to market sources, SAB made a friendly bid of 60 percent. According to these sources, SAB is looking to make other investments in the luxury fashion sector. Roberto Cavalli SpA made a net profit of EUR1.4 million in 2004, on sales of EUR97.7 million. He also has a number of licensing deals, including that of his Just Cavalli brand, which is licensed through a separate company based in the Netherlands called Iga Finance BV .