Belgian chocolatier Pierre Marcolini is looking to sell his chain of luxury chocolate stores: he has sought the help of the Rothschild bank to manage the whole or a part of the eponymous chocolate brand.
Luxury
Marcolini positions himself in the absolute top of the luxury segment and has developed chocolates for Yves Saint Laurent and Victoria Beckham, among others. The brand has forty stores in cities such as Dubai, London, Paris, and Tokyo.
In the event of a sale, investment fund Neo Investment Partners, which owns 47% of the shares, would certainly withdraw, says Belgian business newspaper De Tijd. The rest of the shares are held by Pierre Marcolini, former CEO Olivier Coune, Laurent Levaux (Aviapartner), and François Schwennicke (Delvaux). Some of these shares may also change owners. According to the newspaper, several parties are reported to have shown interest.
In 2013, Neo invested fifteen million euros in the chocolate company to enable its international expansion. The British investment fund previously successfully supported the international development of the French macaron producer Ladurée, which was the reason why Pierre Marcolini joined forces with Neo at the time.
