ITALY: Prada Chief Says Group Could Float Shortly
Italian fashion group Prada could resurrect its planned £1 billion float on the Milan stock exchange as early as September, chief executive Patrizio Bertelli told The Sunday Times yesterday. The public offering was cancelled last year because of fears for the luxury-goods market following the September 11 airline attacks on the US, with the company instead securing a loan to cope with the huge debts incurred acquiring Church's shoes, Jil Sander and Helmut Lang.