Zegna Shares Start Trading on New York Stock Exchange
NEW YORK — The Ermenegildo Zegna Group is now a public company.
“This is a unique experience and really a historic moment,” said chairman and chief executive officer Gildo Zegna on Monday morning, the first day of trading, before ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, to much cheering and clapping.
More from WWD
The executive was surrounded by his cousin Paolo Zegna; his son Edoardo; the company’s artistic director Alessandro Sartori; Andrea Bonomi, founder of Investrindustrial; Thom Browne and Rodrigo Bazan, CEO of the American designer’s company.
“I’m very proud to be Italian, we are ambassadors of Made in Italy, and very proud to be the first Italian fashion house to be listed in New York,” Zegna said.
Shares started trading under the ZGN ticker at shortly after 9:30 a.m. at $10.30.
In July, Zegna said it was planning an initial public offering. The Italian men’s wear giant entered into a business agreement with Investindustrial Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition corporation, sponsored by investment subsidiaries of Investindustrial VII LP.
IIAC has raised total gross proceeds of $402.5 million in its IPO. The new PIPE facility is in addition to the $250 million PIPE facility and the 184.5 million euros (subject to adjustment) forward purchase arrangement with an affiliate of IIAC revealed last July.
The IPO is expected to allow Zegna to further expand globally and continue to build its manufacturing pipeline through acquisitions.
The Zegna family continues to control the luxury company with a stake of nearly 66 percent. Investindustrial has a stake of around 13 percent stake and approximately 21 percent is free floating.
Based on the transaction value, the merged entity will have an initial enterprise value of $3.1 billion with a market capitalization of $2.4 billion. The transaction delivers approximately $761 million in gross proceeds.
Ahead of the listing, the men’s wear giant has kicked off a major rebranding project, which will result in the label being known simply as Zegna.
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.