PPR, Prada and Swaroski said interested in Pomellato

Italian jewellery firm Pomellato has put its plans for a Milan-flotation on hold due to the political uncertainty, advanced Pomellato’s chief executive Andrea Morante. However, the company reportedly won't say no to a potential acquisition.

As announced in spring two years ago, “Our objective is to take Pomellato public.” Even if at that time the company affirmed that an IPO was “more of a 2013 project,” all plans for a Milan-based flotation have been put standby due to the aftermaths of an unstable political situation in Italy – as explained by CEO Andrea Morante last week in an interview with Bloomberg TV -, Pomellato doesn't dislike the idea of a potential acquisition.

The new hung parliament “forces us to look into alternative courses of action, you have to look at other sources of capital,” Morante said in a Feb. 26 Bloomberg TV interview.

In the same breath and as reported by Bloomberg Monday, Pomellato SpA has received expressions of interest from at least four luxury- goods makers, according to a person familiar with the situation. Local publications have also pointed out this option earlier last week, posing French PPR SA, Italian peer Prada SpA and Swarovski as the most likely candidates to buy a stake in the firm.

The source cited advanced that afore mentioned companies are allegedly in talks with the Milan-based company. While no final decision has been made, a deal could be reached this month, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the information is confidential.

“I would think companies like PPR or LVMH could end up securing the deal,” said to Bloomberg Luca Solca, an analyst who heads luxury-goods research at Exane BNP Paribas in London. “As jewelry brands are few and far apart, I would expect valuations to be skewed to the higher as the recent Harry Winston deal suggests.”

This is not the first time that PPR has been pointed out as a potential suitor to acquire a stake in Pomellato. In April 2011, PPR met with Pomellato, according to two people with direct knowledge of the talks. However, neither party was interested in a transaction at the moment, said the people, who asked not to be named because the meeting was private.

Pomellato has an enterprise value of about 270 million euros to 300 million euros, according to the estimates of Thomas Mesmin at CA Cheuvreux.