Diesel Will Take Over Marni

Diesel jeans brand founder Renzo Rosso is set to take over Italy's Marni. Rosso, whose Only The Brave holding controls foreign brands Maison Martin Margiela and Victor & Rolf, also makes clothes under licence for younger-focused lines Just Cavalli and DSquared2.

Founded in 1994 by fur businessman Gianni Castiglioni and his Swiss-born designer wife Consuelo, Marni is sold at around 320 shops in the world, including around 100 Marni-branded stores.

Italy is one of the world's biggest fashion producers but its fragmented and has not seen consolidation on the same scale as France. "It has proved impossible to conglomerate Italy's luxury brands like France did," Umberto Nicodano, partner of Italy-based law firm Bonelli Erede Pappalardo told Reuters.

"The reason: a strong desire of independence of our brands which would have led to issues of governance and valuation."

Marni had long been at the centre of takeover talks.

Rosso, whose holding had a positive net financial position of 133 million euros in 2011, told Reuters in November he had financial resources to make other brand acquisitions.

Financial details of the deal have yet to be announced.

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