Change Capital Partners, a London-based private equity firm, has announced it will buy the Jil Sander operation from Prada SpA Group (Milan).
Change Capital would not announce the acquisition price, but did say it will be giving equity in the company to designer Raf Simons, along with Jil Sander’s two top managers, ceo Gian Giacomo Ferraris and cfo Armin Mueller.
“We seek to align management interests by having them as owners in the company alongside of us,” said Steven Petrow, a managing director of Change Capital, which also owns H2O, a wholesaler of casual sportswear in Denmark, and the retail chain Republic in Britain.
Simons, who also designs for his signature label based in Paris, was hired to design for Jil Sander in July 2005. He showed his first women's collection for the label in Milan on Monday.
“He has come in and effected a transition from Jil Sander herself, kept what is strong about the brand and put his own twist on it without changing the brand dramatically,” Petrow said.