New York Millionaire wants to buy Malo

By Teri Buhl

A New York financier wants to scoop up one of Milan’s treasured high-end fashion labels out of an Italian bankruptcy. Franco DeRose, luxury Upper East Side private investor, flew to Milan today to make a bid for Malo. Malo, a 30-year-old Italian sportswear label who boast a Madison Ave address, is best known for it super luxury cashmere.

Malo’s parent company IT Holding SpA filed for bankruptcy protection in March when it couldn’t make its bank loan. The company had a 10 million Euros net loss as of last September. When the Italian government took over it appointed three administers to cobble together a 6th month restructuring plan. Well those six months are up and as of September 24th the Italian ministry announced they were interested in accepting bidders for the groups’ assets.

DeRose has partnered with an Italian industrialist who wished not to disclose his name until the deal is sealed. The amounts of the offers are being kept secret through a silent auction. DeRose is no cub to deal making and is known as a tough negotiator. As a former M&A star at Goldman Sachs he left in his early 30’s to successfully build wealth through his own deal making finesse. One stumbling block he will have to convince the Ministry of is his desire to keep design and production jobs within Italy. DeRose ,who spends his summers sailing off Sardinia, understands the importance of fashion as a staple to Italian economy.

While in Paris for Fashion week DeRose told The New York MiNute, “There seems to be opportunities for investors willing to buy brands which will need to adjust to the economic times. Margins and revenue have declined but there are opportunities available for the right price! Investors must realize that it is a capital intensive business and be willing to make an investment in the brands.”

Early this spring Malo lost its head designer Alessandro Dell’Acqua because he felt frustrated with Malo’s handicapped resources and problems with its suppliers cramped his creative process. IT Holding choose not to replace him. When asked if the lack of a big name designer was a concern DeRose said, “You can always find a designer-that is easy- buying it at the right price is harder.”

Reuters reported early this year that Malo sales revenue for the first nine months of 2008 was 35.7 million Euros. IT Holdings did not return a request for comment about current sales figures or net profit/loss for the label.

Editors Note: Teri Buhl is a financial journalist who has written for Trader Monthly, New York Post, Dealbreaker, Fashionista, HousingWire, and Bank-Implode.