(Adds background on Moncler, Ruffini)
PARIS/MILAN, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Shares in luxury puffer coat
maker Moncler surged over 11% on Thursday, after a
report of potential takeover interest from French conglomerate
Kering.
Shares in the Gucci owner were marginally up by 0.65% in
early trading on the Paris bourse, after Bloomberg reported on
Wednesday evening that the companies had held exploratory talks
about a possible combination or deal.
The two firms declined to comment.
The report comes hot on the heels of LVMH's agreed
$16 billion takeover of jeweller Tiffany last month, and
talk of further bid activity in the luxury industry led to a
broader sector rally, with shares in Britain's Burberry and
Italy's Salvatore Ferragamo also rising.
Moncler has become of the industry's biggest success stories
in recent years, after a makeover under Italian entrepreneur
Remo Ruffini, who bought it out in 2003 and is still the chief
executive. It listed on Milan's stock market six years ago.
The label - worth over 10 billion euros ($11 billion) on the
stock market, and which derives its name from
Monestier-de-Clermont, a mountain village near Grenoble in
France - gave its jackets, which sell for more than $1,000, a
more fashionable twist.
It has benefited from a fad for high-end streetwear, and
even dresses movie stars in quilted dresses on the red carpet.
But analysts and industry insiders have sometimes questioned
whether its model, which is more heavily reliant on a single
product than most rivals, is sustainable in the long run.
That has led to speculation that Ruffini could even be a
buyer and build out his company, or could look to sell.
The businessman, who owns over 22% in the group, had
exploratory contacts with Kering about a potential deal around
the time of its flotation, a source familiar with the matter
said.
But Ruffini has given few indications since that he would be
willing to sell, several people familiar with his thinking said.
Paris-based Kering, which also owns Saint Laurent and
Balenciaga and is run by billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault, is
heavily reliant on Gucci for revenues and profit.
The Italian fashion label has also undergone a spectacular
turnaround, and outperformed most peers in recent years,
although sales growth is slowing.
($1 = 0.9073 euros)
(Reporting by Sarah White and Pamela Barbaglia;
Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta/Keith Weir)
Burberry (BRBY)