Italian Billionaire Remo Ruffini Adding Hip-Hop Favored Label Stone Island To His Pricey…

Italian luxury sportswear brand Moncler announced one of its biggest acquisitions to date on Monday: a $1.4 billion cash-and-stock deal for Stone Island, a smaller Italian competitor popular with celebrities including hip-hop artists Drake and Travis Scott. Moncler shares closed nearly 2% higher on the news, lifting the net worth of the firm’s chairman and CEO, Remo Ruffini, by about $50 million, to $3.1 billion.

The acquisition marks a significant expansion for a firm that nearly went bankrupt 17 years ago, when Ruffini — then a creative consultant and fashion entrepreneur — bought it from its French owners. He overhauled the brand and took it public in 2013 in one of Italy’s most successful IPOs at the time, a listing that earned Ruffini his debut on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list in 2014, with a net worth of $1.4 billion. Stone Island, which was founded in 1982, was once associated with soccer hooligans in Europe before pivoting to high-end streetwear.

“Stone Island is a great success story, a company that has built an exceptionally strong relationship with its community, offering a highly distinctive product,” Ruffini said in a statement. “We’re coming together at a challenging moment both for Italy and the world, when everything seems uncertain and unpredictable. But I believe it is precisely in these moments that we need new energy and new inspiration to build our tomorrow.”

Stone Island CEO Carlo Rivetti and his family, who together own 70% of Stone Island, will receive nearly $1 billion before taxes — an estimated $490 million in cash plus 10.7 million shares in newly issued Moncler stock worth about $485 million. After the transaction closes, Rivetti will join Moncler’s board of directors. Ruffini appears to want to bring Rivetti into a decision-making role in Moncler and plans to change the name of his shareholding entity to Double R, standing for both of their family initials.

The remaining 30% of Stone Island is held by the Singaporean government’s investment company Temasek Holdings, which will be able to choose between receiving 4.6 million of Moncler’s new shares at about $45.50 a share or taking an all-cash deal instead.

Ruffini says the acquisition will strengthen Moncler’s position in a luxury fashion industry dominated by conglomerates such as Bernard Arnault’s LVMH and François Pinault’s Kering.

“This is a union of two Italian brands with the same values, the same management rigor, the same passion for innovation, the same love for their people and the same desire for the future,” he said. “It’s the celebration of the resilience of a country that no crisis can stop.”