OTB group granted €50 million loan by Italian government

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Oct 8, 2020

The Italian government is very active in supporting local manufacturers in this delicate, post-lockdown recovery period, especially through loans issued by state-controlled investment bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). After granting a €15 million loan to Liu Jo, CDP has now provided fresh financing to Italian fashion group OTB.

OTB, which is owned by Renzo Rosso and includes among its proprietary labels Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni, Viktor & Rolf and Amiri, has secured a loan worth €50 million to support its expansion and development plans, as the group itself and CDP have announced in a joint press release. Despite the fact that 2020 is an extremely complex year, with fierce competition across the entire fashion industry, OTB confirmed that it still intends to pursue the expansion plans drawn up before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“CDP's intervention is a concrete help for the growth strategy that the OTB group is engaged in, in Italy and abroad. The operation is proof, all the more significant in these complex times and for the sectors most affected by the pandemic, of the key role CDP can play in bolstering leading Italian groups, groups that operate on a global scale and regularly undertake sizeable investments to continue to innovate, grow and expand internationally,” said Nunzio Tartaglia, head of CDP’s Private Business division.

In 2019, OTB was the fourth-largest Italian fashion group, after Prada, Giorgio Armani and Salvatore Ferragamo. Last year, the group recorded a revenue of €1.540 billion, growing 6.4% over 2018, and EBITDA worth €190 million, while its net cash position as of December 31 was €124 million.

Again last year, OTB acquired Californian luxury denim label Amiri, and increased the stake it holds in Viktor & Rolf from 51% to 70%. The group also owns Brave Kid, a childrenswear specialist, and Staff International, the company that produces and distributes Marni and Margiela, as well as a series of licensed labels like Dsquared2, Just Cavalli and Koché.