Mayhoola and Balmain CEO confirm takeover

London - Mayhoola, private investment firm and parent company of fashion house Valentino, has confirmed together with the Chief Executive Officer of Balmain its acquistion of the Parisian fashion house.

Balmain confirmed news of the deal on Wednesday following several news reports of an immediate deal on the cards. The closing of the deal, which is said to be valued at 485 million euros, is expected to take place this summer. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the company did not reveal if members of the management team at Balmain participated in the transaction and sold their stakes.

Confirmation of the acquisition puts to rest months of speculation concerning the ownership of the Balmain following the passing of its former chairman and majority shareholder Alain Hivelin in December 2014. Since his death, the majority ownership of the fashion house has been held by a family holding company which is represented by Hivelin's heirs and members of Balmain's management board.

"We are extremely pleased with this development," said Balmain's CEO, Emmanuel Diemoz, in a statement. "Balmain's celebration of the new, diverse and modern style of today's men and women has resulted not only in an instantly recognizable silhouette and attitude — it has also helped the house experience a notable increase in turnover, with 50 percent growth in revenues from 2013 to 2015." Diemoz expressed his gratitude to Hiveline for all his work, as he has been credited with rejuvenating and turning around the fashion house.

"As we enter into this new, exciting phase for the company, we are confident that Mayhoola, with its expertise and resources, will play a substantial role to achieve further growth for our brand at the global scene," he added. "Today is the start of an exciting journey for Balmain and we will work harder than ever to successfully lead Balmain through this new phase of growth, realize the brand's full potential and achieve even more impressive accomplishments with the strong support of our new shareholders."

Mayhoola, which is said to be controlled by Qatar's royal family, is one of the many Qatari investors vehicles currently developing a fashion, retail and real estat portfolio in Europe. "The house's remarkable growth and many accomplishments in recent years have reinforced the brand's potential to become a true global luxury goods leader," a company spokesperson for Mayhoola noted.

"By backing the current management and design team, we aim to ensure that Balmain achieves its full potential. We believe Balmain will contribute significantly to our ambition to build a global luxury goods powerhouse."

Photo: Balmain SS16 campaign, Facebook