L’Officiel Inc., the parent company of the 100-year-old French fashion and lifestyle magazine of the same name with a network of global editions, has been acquired by AMTD International, a Hong Kong-based financial service conglomerate.

The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

William Fung, AMTD International’s chief executive, said in a statement that the acquisition was part of a plan to continue diversifying its operations, and as a way to expand into the metaverse. To that end, Fung said AMTD x L’Officiel would launch a new fashion skin product offering in The Sandbox, a decentralized gaming virtual world.

Benjamin Eymère will continue as L’Officiel’s CEO, and he will also assume the newly created role of chief metaverse officer at AMTD International.

L’Officiel has struggled financially during the pandemic and the US arm of the company was sued by the city of New York for being unable to pay freelancers. L’Officiel has since indicated that it has submitted an offer to settle these payments.

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