Style Capital mulling New Guards Group acquisition

Italian private equity firm Style Capital is reportedly mulling the acquisition of Farfetch-owned New Guards Group, which is facing an uncertain future in the wake of its parent company’s sale to South Korea’s Coupang.

The speculation was confirmed by Style Capital’s founder and chief executive officer, Roberta Benagalia, who told WWD that while a possible purchase was on the radar, it was “complicated” as “there are several major parties involved”.

New Guards Group counts the likes of Palm Angels, Unravel Project and Peggy Gou, among others, as part of its international brand portfolio, as well as holding the licensing of Off-White and acting as the European partner to Reebok.

Its future was thrust into doubt, however, amid the acquisition of Farfetch by Coupang towards the end of last year, which had brought a halt to the former’s initially planned takeover of Richemont’s Yoox Net-a-Porter.

Though Farfetch and Coupang had not detailed what would happen to New Guards Group, the duo did note that the deal involved a 500 million dollar capital injection as part of a “pre-pack” administration process.

As such, the luxury e-tailer said it would “continue providing exclusive brands and boutiques with bespoke, cutting-edge technology and giving leading designers access to consumers around the globe.”