Just last week Style.com/Arabia posted about the negotiations that were set to take place this April to assure a Spring takeover of the upscale French department store, Printemps. It would appear that the Qatari investors, allied with Italian businessman, Maurizio Borletti, had an earlier timeline in place, and have now pushed out neighboring bidder Galeries Lafayette to purchase Printemps for USD$1.41 billion from French luxury group Kering (PPR).
Official documents seen by Reuters show that Qatari investors are offering to buy Borletti Group’s 30 percent stake in Printemps, which would make them 100 percent owners. Just last month, the Borletti Group said that it did not wish to sell its stake in the department store. Also stipulated is that the current management team will remain in place and existing jobs at Printemps will be preserved. All the contract details will be finalized this summer.
