Premium stationery brand Moleskine acquired by Belgian auto group

Belgium-based automotive business, D’Ieteren, has acquired 100% of the shares in premium stationery company Moleskine.

An acquisition price of €2.40 per share was agreed with outgoing stakeholders Syntegra Capital and Index Ventures, valuing Moleskine at around €510 million.

Last September saw D’Ieteren, a listed luxury vehicle distributor with a dominant 22% share of the Belgian market, acquire 41% of the Moleskine shares, and this rose to more than 95% in December. It now has, together with Moleskine which owns treasury shares, full ownership of the brand and has removed the business from the Milan Stock Exchange.

Moleskine opened its first ever city centre café last summer, in Milan, Italy. CEO Arrigo Berni discussed details of the concept at The Moodie Davitt Report’s FAB 2016 conference
Moleskine opened its first ever city centre café last summer, in Milan, Italy. CEO Arrigo Berni discussed details of the concept at The Moodie Davitt Report’s FAB 2016 conference

D’Ieteren views Moleskine, which generated sales of €128 million in 2015, as an “aspirational lifestyle brand” and the organisation has described its acquisition as “a growth pillar” for the group.

Moleskine opened its first ever city centre café last summer, in Milan, Italy, as part of the company’s drive in to new trading channels. Details of the venture, initially trialled through the opening of a pilot store at Geneva Airport, were highlighted by the company’s CEO, Arrigo Berni, at The Moodie Davitt Report’s FAB conference in June 2016.

Berni also discussed the airport café and his company’s future plans in an interview with this publication.

The Moleskine Café houses an art gallery, a retail store and a library, and is viewed by the brand as a platform to encourage creativity among visitors. The concept is expected to be rolled out to other major markets around the world.

Note: The Moodie Davitt Report’s FAB 2017 conference runs from 21-23 June 2017 in Toronto, Canada

 

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