Armani group prepares the stake sale ordered by its founder's will

The Giorgio Armani Group is preparing for the stake sale mandated by its late founder's will, with the process expected to begin in September, WWD reported this week. Bloomberg earlier reported that the group has engaged Boston Consulting Group as it adapts to the post-founder era, though a source close to the company played the appointment down as routine advisory work. Rothschild & Co is expected to be chosen as adviser on the sale itself: the bank's partner Irving Bellotti has a long relationship with the house and sits on the board of the Giorgio Armani Foundation.

Giorgio Armani died on 4 September 2025, and his will sets out an unusually prescriptive timetable. An initial 15% of Giorgio Armani SpA is to be sold within 12 to 18 months of the will's opening, with priority given to LVMH, EssilorLuxottica and L'Oréal, though other buyers meeting the founder's criteria are not excluded. Between years three and five a further 30% to 54.9% may be sold, and between years five and eight the group may instead pursue a public listing, with an Italian venue prioritised. The Armani Foundation permanently retains 30.1% to safeguard the founder's principles.

Chief executive Giuseppe Marsocci, appointed in October 2025, told WWD that governance was settled 'in a speedy manner' in the first year after the designer's death. One Milan-based source suggested the heirs could offer 5% to each of the three preferred buyers, a structure that would test appetite and establish a valuation without handing influence to any single group. For LVMH, EssilorLuxottica and L'Oréal, even a small stake would buy a seat at the table for the larger tranches the will contemplates later.

What to watch is the formal award of the sale mandate, which of the three named buyers engages first, and the valuation the process sets for the last great independent Italian fashion house.

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