TowerBrook to acquire French jean brand Kaporal

By

Bruno Joly

Published
May 21, 2013

TowerBrook Captial Partners this morning confirmed news that it will take majority stake in French denim brand Kaporal. Now rendered minor shareholders, MBO Partenaires and founder Laurent Emsellem are reinvesting in the company. It has been reported that when the deal closes in July, MBO Partenaires’ share in the company will be reduced to 33%.

TowerBrook is known in the luxury industry for its stake in Jimmy Choo and for Odlo in the sporting world. In light of the its recent agreement to acquire Californian denim brand True Religion, it looks as though TowerBrooks will pull on new-found expertise in the field to push growth for both brands, despite their differing market positions.

Kaporal, for one, has put its foot to the floor with international development since the arrival of Santiago Cuchy last summer. The current chief executive came to the denim brand after a stint at the head of Tommy Hilfiger France. As part of the deal, founder Laurent Emsellen will retain his responsibilities at the company.

Kaporal is one of just a few French denim brands to generate revenue over 100 million euros. In an interview with FashionMag France in July, Laurent Emsellem spoke of ambitions to boost revenue to 300 million euros in the next four years. That being said, Kaporal currently does only 12% of its business outside of France.