Mayhoola for Investments, an investment fund backed by the Emir of Qatar, has acquired French fashion house Balmain, adding a brand favoured by American reality television star Kim Kardashian to a roster of labels that includes Italy’s Valentino. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Mayhoola is believed to have agreed to pay close to $565 million, according to a Bloomberg report. The acquisition of 100 per cent of Balmain from shareholders including France’s Hivelin family will allow the brand to accelerate its development by opening new stores around the world, advisers Bucephale Finance said in a statement this week. Balmain has become one of the most talked about fashion brands under creative director Olivier Rousteing, whose Instagram account is peppered with images of Kardashian and her family wearing his military-inspired designs. The fashion house, founded by Pierre Balmain in 1945 and revived in 1995 by Alain Hivelin, has enjoyed strong growth since Rousteing joined in 2011, according to the statement. Mayhoola, which also owns Valentino, which is considering selling shares in an initial public offering as early as next year after nearly doubling profit on revenue of more than $1 billion in 2015. The acquisition of Balmain is the second fashion deal this week by Middle Eastern investors after Bahrain investment house Investcorp Bank BSC purchased 55 per cent of Italian menswear maker Corneliani. The transactions come as demand for luxury goods cools, with consultants Bain & Co estimating global sales will expand at best by 2 per cent this year, the second-weakest rate since 2009.
