Skip to main content
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Kering’s Francois Pinault Becomes Latest Luxury Tycoon to Plow Into SPACs

François-Henri Pinault. Virgile Guinard.

Francois Pinault, the billionaire founder of luxury conglomerate Kering SA, has emerged as the latest French tycoon to plow into the booming SPAC world.

Pinault, 84, bought a stake in former Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam’s blank-check firm, a spokeswoman for the businessman’s holding company confirmed in response to Bloomberg queries. The investment in Freedom Acquisition I Corp. was made in Pinault’s personal capacity.

Freedom Acquisition started trading in New York at the end of February, raising $345 million after Thiam increased the size of the transaction. The offering recorded an oversubscription level in the mid-teens, people with knowledge of the matter said. About one-third of the deal went to family offices, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Thiam has been on the board of Kering since last year, sitting as a director alongside the elder Pinault’s son, Francois-Henri. A representative for Freedom Acquisition declined to comment.

ADVERTISEMENT

Pinault joins his main rival in the luxury world, LVMH boss Bernard Arnault, in backing a special purpose acquisition company started by a European banking veteran. Former UniCredit SpA Chief Executive Officer Jean Pierre Mustier said last month he’s teaming up with Arnault and French asset manager Tikehau Capital for a blank-check company that will list in Amsterdam.

Thiam’s SPAC will hunt for technology-enabled businesses in the financial services industry that show growth and the potential to scale, it said in previous filings.

By Stefania Spezzati, Jan-Henrik Förster and Albertina Torsoli

In This Article

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Financial Markets
A financial lens on the fast-changing fashion sector, including markets, investors and deals.

The Best of BoF 2023: Diversity’s Litmus Test

In 2020, like many companies, the $50 billion yoga apparel brand created a new department to improve internal diversity and inclusion, and to create a more equitable playing field for minorities. In interviews with BoF, 14 current and former employees said things only got worse.


The Year Ahead: The Future of Fashion Deal-Making

For fashion’s private market investors, deal-making may provide less-than-ideal returns and raise questions about the long-term value creation opportunities across parts of the fashion industry, reports The State of Fashion 2024.


The Investment Giant Behind Some of Fashion’s Biggest Deals

L Catterton, the private-equity firm with close ties to LVMH and Bernard Arnault that’s preparing to take Birkenstock public, has become an investment giant in the consumer-goods space, with stakes in companies selling everything from fashion to pet food to tacos.


view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections