MILAN — Kering has secured another deal as part of its real estate strategy, allowing the French group to raise additional cash and reduce its debt.
On Wednesday, Kering revealed it had signed an agreement with Al-Mirqab Group, creating a newly incorporated joint stock company and selling a majority stake in its building on 8 Via Monte Napoleone in Milan.
As per the agreement, the Qatar-based business services group Al Mirqab holds 80 percent of the asset and Kering retains the remaining shares.
The 18th-century edifice is one of the largest properties on the tony shopping street and it stands on a key, central position on the corner with Via Sant’Andrea, housing the storied Cova coffee and pastry house and a Prada boutique, among other luxury stores.
Kering received proceeds of 729 million euros at closing, while a remaining 432 million euros will be paid to the group five years later, for a total of more than 1.1 billion euros.
In 2024, Kering acquired the five-floor building for about 1.3 billion euros from a subsidiary of Blackstone Property Partners Europe. The property includes more than 5,000 square meters of retail space, making it one of the largest in Via Monte Napoleone.
Since his arrival in September, Kering chief executive officer Luca de Meo has taken rapid action to tackle the debt load. In December, Kering revealed a joint venture agreement with private equity firm Ardian for its property at 715-717 Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Ardian holds a 60 percent stake, and Kering the balance. The transaction was valued at $900 million, with Kering netting $690 million.
The address comprises multilevel luxury retail spaces totaling about 115,000 square feet.
In January last year, Kering transferred three prestigious Paris properties to a joint venture with Ardian in a deal valued at 837 million euros. Ardian similarly took a 60 percent stake in that new entity, with Kering holding 40 percent.
Another key move was the sale of the Kering Beauté division to French beauty giant L’Oréal for 4 billion euros, a deal that received the approval from competition authorities this week, as reported.
The finalized agreement confirms the acquisition of the division, which includes the House of Creed, and the signing of beauty and fragrance licenses for the Kering brands.
In addition to this, the deal gives L’Oréal the rights to enter into a 50-year exclusive license for the creation, development and distribution of fragrance and beauty products for Gucci, commencing after the expiration of Kering’s current license with Coty for that business.
To be sure, the group ended 2025 with net debt of 8.04 billion euros, down from 10.5 billion euros the previous year. It achieved 925 million euros in cost savings last year, cutting group operating expenses by 9 percent.
Also, Kering and Mayhoola in September jointly revealed that the current ownership structure of the Valentino house will not change before 2028 at the earliest, amending the shareholders’ agreement, inked at the time of Kering’s acquisition of a 30 percent stake in Valentino in 2023 for 1.7 billion euros in cash as part of a broader strategic partnership with the Qatari investment fund.
As per that original deal, the French group had an option to buy 100 percent of Valentino’s capital by 2028, while Mayhoola could become a shareholder in Kering, with the final purchase price linked to the Italian fashion brand’s performance.
Following the new agreement, Mayhoola’s put options on Kering exercisable in 2026 and 2027 for its remaining 70 percent stake in Valentino are now postponed to 2028 and 2029, respectively. Kering’s call option to acquire Mayhoola’s stake in 2028 is also deferred to 2029.
